A New Warrior
by Fivellion
Summary: The disgraced prince plots his course: He seeks the throne, revenge, restored dignity, all those sweet broken things. He will claim all of China, as is his birth right. But for this, he will need more allies. He will start with one; a warrior. (T to be safe) Updates every Monday
1. Information

A New Warrior

I.

The stranger wore a long, trailing robe- black, unadorned. But in the back, it was so disproportionately long that it looked terribly cumbersome to the patrons of Yang-Guan Tavern, so they- of course- took notice. And upon further inspection, that fabric gleamed too brightly in the dim lantern light and shifted far too smoothly to be common cotton. The robe covered most of his face, but for the tip of a sharp beak poking out from beneath the hem.

The stranger also had a companion; a young, one-eyed wolf that walked in that menacing, hunched-over sort of way in which wolves always seemed to walk. When the stranger chose to sit at a lone table in the darkest corner of the room, the wolf followed obediently. When nothing exciting happened, the patrons soon lost interest but the owner of the tavern, a stout pig called Yang, hadn't. Though the stranger was suspicious, he was also very likely loaded, and Yang knew if he could pull this off- well, there may be great fortune in his future.

Gesturing to the waitress, he trotted over to the stranger's table. With a humble bow of his head and a wide, hospitable smile, he said "What can I get you fine gentlemen this evening?"

"Information." The stranger said promptly, his voice rich with nobility.

"And gin," his companion added.

"Aah..." Yang's smile dropped slightly. He had to be careful here. "Well... at least one of those needs is easily remedied. Girl!" Remarkably, the pig somehow managed to snap a hoof impatiently. The waitress, a wide-eyed young doe, rushed over. "A bottle of our finest gin for the gentlemen!" Yang ordered, and, with a bow, the doe scurried off into the back room.

"Now as for your other request..." The pig shifted uncomfortably. "I'm afraid I'm not privy to... Ah, I'm just a tavern holder, mind you..." The stranger stared at him impassively from beneath the shadows of the robe until Yang felt compelled to go on. "What exactly were you hoping to know, sir?" he finished lamely.

"I am searching for a warrior."

"Ah!" Yang nearly sighed with relief. "Ah, well this is certainly the place. D'you see that mountain there?" He gestured toward the nearest window. "That's-"

"The Peak of Heyling, yes, yes, I'm aware." The stranger said with impatience. "I am not looking for _any_ warrior..." The doe was back with the gin and the wolf grinned toothily at her as she nervously set out the ceramic cups and unclasped the bottle. The stranger paid her no mind. "I am not looking for a trained dog," he said harshly. "I am looking for a warrior with skill, cunning, power, loyalty... and _grace._" He stressed the last as he watched his companion down the gin hungrily. Drink and spittle dripped down his chin and into his matted fur.

"I'm... I'm sure there is a master at the temple with all of those attributes... sir."

"So you tell me you know of no one. Hm. What a shame." Quipped the stranger smoothly. "I had been willing to reward such a warrior greatly for their services... as well as the informant who led me to them."

"Ah!" The pig exclaimed. "Something just returned to me- Master Flaming Leopard! She is very powerful- and graceful! She has mastered the flame-throwing technique and was legendary-"

"Until she was injured and defeated by marauders." The stranger interrupted, bored. "Third-degree burns, I believe."

"You, ah... know about that, eh?" Yang laughed weakly.

"You're testing my patience, barkeep. A dangerous pursuit." Yang thought he heard a low, indistinct growl from the direction of the wolf and he swallowed thickly.

"No, no, I know of another. Master Iron Ox. A champion of-"

"Nothing more than a moody brute."

"He does have a bit of a temper, but-"

The stranger stood abruptly, causing Yang to nearly jump out of his skin. "You are wasting my time."

"I, I..." The pig stammered, but was silenced with a look from the stranger, accompanied by another soft growl. His heart was beating frantically and he felt he may faint, but he still managed a low bow. "Thank you for your patronage." He said demurely.

The stranger regarded him coldly for a moment, then turned and strode toward the door. The wolf hurriedly gulped down the last of his gin and followed, pausing to drop a few coins on the table. And for that, at least, Yang was grateful.

…

The sun was low and the air had chilled when Lord Shen and his second-in-command exited the tavern. Shen was admittedly discouraged. With the wolf at his side, he had interviewed (or perhaps interrogated) nearly every owner and store clerk in this grimy little village, always with results similar to those he had just received. He had heard rumors, stories, and fairy tales, songs and legends, but nothing tangible, nothing that interested him. He was beginning to lose hope in this place, despite the kung fu Mecca that loomed over the village like an imposing relative: Heyling Temple. And Shen refused to endanger himself or his servant by entering that place without a valid reason. It was in fact open to the public, but Shen was a shamed nobleman, and wasn't, technically, supposed to be in China at all. Even in this remote northern province, he wasn't entirely safe.

"That was another bust, huh?" The wolf remarked. Shen's scowl tightened silently. It was not that his personal guard of wolves was unsatisfactory. His incessant paranoia drove him to keep at least one or two of them with him at all times. But Shen know that there would come a day when he would once again rise to power, and in order to make any progress, he needed to gather allies. He would start with a single warrior; someone powerful yet malleable, that he could shape and bind to his will. Someone he could trust. For there were so few nowadays...

Shen and the pack were camped in the forest, on the fringes of the village and by a river that flowed from the Heyling Mountain. Shen had just begun the trek back to the camp when he heard a small, frightened whisper from behind: "Excuse me? Don't go!"

He turned to see the little doe that had brought his lieutenant the gin. She stepped tentatively toward them, head bowed and eyes averted respectfully. "I-I... I overheard some of what you said and I... I know of someone... a bat." _Bat. _Shen narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar word. There had been no such creature where he grew up, or if there were, he hadn't known of them.

"This... _bat _is a warrior?" He asked skeptically.

"Oh, yes." Said the doe sincerely. "A magnificent warrior. Brave and sure... and very kind." Shen exchanged a glance with the wolf. _Kind_ was yet another word he had not expected.

"And where exactly did you receive this information?" he persisted.

"It's no rumor." The doe said, lifting her head to look him bravely in the eyes. "She saved my life. She has saved many lives- the lives of the weak and defenseless. Her name is Jinzhang."

A moment of silence passed in which Shen raised a sleek eyebrow. "I suppose you want payment."

"Oh, no." The doe seemed genuinely surprised that it had been offered, and she shook her small head. "But please do reward Jinzhang. She deserves so much and receives so little."

"We will see," Shen said dismissively. "Where can I find her?"

"In the temple." She pointed to the Peak of Heyling behind Shen, but he knew what she meant regardless. "By day, she is the Keeper of the Fountain of Wisdom. That's where you will find her.

"... I have to go now." said the doe, glancing around. "Please do consider. It doesn't matter what those masters say- she is the finest warrior in the province. I'm sure of it." And with that, the doe darted back into the tavern, sure to receive punishment for abandoning her duties.

"Well that was interesting." The wolf said after a minute or two. "... Whadd'ya think?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do we finally have a lead?"

"I don't know." Shen admitted musingly. He turned on his heel and marched toward camp. "But we will rest for now." The one-eyed wolf followed questioningly. "In the morning," he continued, "We scale Heyling."


	2. Jinzhang

II.

The morning brought clarity of purpose for Shen. He was about to embark on something other than the typical skulking bid for survival and it felt good to be moving forward again. Unfortunately, the way forward was up a mountain.

They began the climb early- before the sun overtook the mountaintops and light spilled into the valley below. Shen was once again accompanied by his lieutenant and was determined not to feel bested by the wolf, but it was a losing battle. Despite the peacock's glowing ego, Shen was not in the physical shape that he used to be. As an adolescent, he had become obsessed with mastering the art of kung fu, but had quickly lost interest and had often neglected to practice after receiving his black belt. And after the banishment- well. Five years of depression and general self-pity had weakened his stamina and dulled his reflexes.

The one-eyed wolf was a different story. He exercised impulsively and became uneasy and irritable without regular physical exertion. And so, toward the middle of the hike, as the sun rose ever higher, Shen struggled to keep pace with the blasted canine without showing any signs of his weariness.

They didn't reach the summit until noon, by which time Shen was feeling thoroughly exhausted (and rather demoralized as well). The trail they had followed opened up into a broad training ground, and past it lay the temple- a magnificent stone structure, carved into and built out of the rocky face of the mountain. Its shingled roof and multiple stories were held up by columns inlayed with thousands of carved dragons, their heads and tails curled towards the sky. Though it was the most prestigious thing Shen had seen in his five years of disgraceful exile, Shen could only scowl. It was nothing compared to the majesty of the palace of Gongmen City, but still, some small, secret part of him twisted with grief at the reminder of his home.

On the training grounds, there must have been fifty or more students enhancing their coordination, each following the slow movement of their instructor with near-perfect precision. In the distance, the low, rhythmic pinging of a bell could be heard. Having caught his breath, Shen regained his composure and headed for the temple, cutting through the ocean of diligent students with his hood down and head raised proudly, crest bobbing with his steps.

"Whoa…" The wolf glanced around uneasily as he trailed after Shen. "What's wrong with these guys?"

"Hm?" Shen replied distractedly.

"If this is kung fu," the wolf said. "I think their doin' it wrong…"

The peacock sighed. "It is tai chi. An ancient practice."

"Well it's weird," The wolf said matter-of-factly. "And pretty damn useless. Like to see 'em try to take my pack on with their _super-slow _technique." He chortled.

"It is _not kung fu-_"

"-I'll say it's not!-"

"-It instills _discipline._" Shen hissed. "Perhaps _you _could benefit."

At this, the wolf bit his tongue and was silent as they entered the temple and scaled the old wooden steps. The first three floors were filled with empty corridors, dorms, and balconies overlooking the grounds. When Shen reached the fourth and final floor, however, he found a single wide, cavernous room. He was first aware of the dim light and heady perfume of burning incense. Sunlight filtered through dusty, wax paper windows on the wall facing the grounds, but the opposite wall was rough, grey stone- raw cliff face that seemed to hum with earthen power. And against that wall stood the Fountain of the Water of Wisdom.

It was... disappointing. Spring water from within the mountain trickled from the ceiling into a hanging basin, which overflowed into the large, round mosaic on the floor. The mosaic formed a simple pattern- the symbol of yin and yang, good and evil, light and dark. Black and white. Shen shivered involuntarily.

"Would the travelers like a drink to ease their weariness?"

Shen jumped at the sound of a female voice so close, turned and jumped again as he was met nose to nose with the cat-like face of a creature that was hanging _upside-down_ from the shadowy rafters above. She wore servant's clothing and, strangely, a blindfold was secured over her eyes.

"Hey," Shen's lieutenant laughed a little in surprise. "How're you doing that with your feet?"

"Eh?" Though blinded, the creature's big ears twitched and her head turned in the direction of the wolf. "Oh. Oh, I don't know. It comes naturally, I think." She said with a smile.

Shen realized his chest feathers were ruffled in surprise and he discreetly smoothed them, though the creature couldn't see him anyway. "Are you..." he asked uncertainly, "the keeper of the fountain?"

"That's right." The creature replied, unfolding her wings. And they _were_ wings, Shen realized, though they were featherless. Instead of feathers there was skin- so thin and delicate that, against the backdrop of the dampened sunlight, Shen could see every intricate spider webbing blood vessel. The keeper of the fountain stretched briefly, then released the rafter from her clawed feet and, landing one-handed, turned her body in mid air so that she fell into a crouching position, facing her guests. "Not that it's such an important title," she continued plainly. "The fountain keeps itself."

"...Indeed," was all Shen could think to say.

"I'm sorry I startled you," she said, turning to Shen. "Please- you are welcome to drink."

After a moment, Shen's wolf gave a shrug. "Don't mind if I-"

Shen's wing shot out hung in the air- a signal for the wolf to halt. "What are you playing at?" He asked the creature. The keeper merely cocked her head to the side and Shen caught a glimpse of shockingly golden-yellow fur beneath the raised collar of her sleeveless tunic. The blindfold made it very difficult to read her expressions.

"I have heard of the Fountain of Wisdom," he said dubiously. "Its water is said to cause the blind to see and fools to go mad. It is said to cure ailments and revive the weak. Do you expect me to believe that its keeper simply offers this water to anyone that wonders out of the woods?"

"Yes." Said the keeper cheerfully, an infuriating smile playing on her lips.

Shen narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."

The creature's smile shrank as she appeared to consider this statement. "I am?"

"It's a test of some kind." Shen knew how these things worked. He had seen it all his young life from his tutors- they would attempt to deceive him to test his cunning young mind. And this was the Fountain of_ Wisdom_, after all.

The keeper seemed to comprehend. She nodded slowly, said, "I'll get you a cup, shall I?" then opened her wings and kicked off the ground, propelling herself into the air and landing lightly on a ledge near the streaming water. "It's a bit hard," she said as she took a small jade bowl and dipped it under the stream. "Because of the minerals from the mountain. But it'll make you strong. I suppose that accounts for the medicinal rumors." The keeper stepped off the ledge and landed neatly on her small feet.

Smiling again, she offered Shen the full bowl, and Shen took it. Despite himself, he was really quite thirsty. "As for the rest," she said, "Exaggerations and stories. Believe me, friend. The people of this province revere water for no mythical reason. There is no mystery." And suddenly Shen felt foolish. And angry. The hike, the searching- it was all for nothing.

His voice lowered dangerously, causing the wolf behind him to tense in apprehension. "Then it is of no use to me." He said, and flung the bowl to the floor.

Quick as lightning, the keeper swept forward and snatched it from the air, deftly catching the stray droplets before they could hit the ground. Shen was overcome with fresh outrage. She could _see!_ She _must_ see. But how?

With a thoughtful smile, the keeper tipped back her dark head and drank the mineral rich water. Shen watched her carefully. He was paying closer attention now. It had to be those ears- those big, curved disks that swiveled and twisted at the slightest movement. Had he made a sound when he threw the bowl down? Had she guessed where the water would land?

"Water is life," the blindfolded keeper was saying quietly. She didn't seem to notice as Shen crept toward her. "And life is precious…"

"A beautiful sentiment. But I beg to _differ_." With that last word, Shen threw a punch at the girl's right side- hit air as she swiveled easily away. There was a tense, wordless, moment. The keeper subtly planted her feet in a more defensive stance, nonchalantly tossed the bowl (which the wolf impulsively caught) to the side, and waited.

Shen lunged. He kicked, jabbed, feigned, kicked some more in quick succession. He couldn't touch her- couldn't even graze her as she dodged again and again with beautiful timing. But he was driving her into a corner, trying to force her to fight back. There was a glimmer of something, here. But he would have to gauge her strength before he was sure.

Her back brushed the wall and Shen smirked, but rather than going on the offensive, she merely blocked him with her fore-wings. She was obviously aware that he wasn't aiming to seriously hurt her. He began to feel like he'd initiated some kind of spontaneous sparing match. She was sure and endlessly patient and it made Shen sick with frustration. As he began to tire, he left an opening for just a fraction of a second, and she grabbed it; she ducked under his wing, leapt swiftly into the rafters, and perched there, out of reach. She stared down at him, and he imagined her smile was a little smug.

"What was _that?_" Shen squawked, forgetting himself. "Come down from there!"

"Why?"

"We aren't through!"

"Through with what?"

Shen hesitated. "Where did you learn to do that?"he pressed, changing the subject. "Who is your master?"

"No one," said the girl. For the first time, she looked uncomfortable. "…I'm a servant here. I don't study under the masters-"

"Very well," Shen cut her off hurriedly. He did not much care_ how_ she had gained her skills, as long as she could use them. "You did not study. These things just come… _naturally_, yes?"She was having a hard time following him, and he was pleased that he finally had the advantage.

The keeper shifted on her perch. "I…uh-"

"You cannot be satisfied here," Shen approached slowly, watching the keeper's ears flatten against her head. "treated as one would a- well, a _servant_, your talents clearly unappreciated. You could be so much more-"

"-I am happy he-"

"-Jinzhang." The bat tensed immediately, and Shen imagined her eyes, big and round behind the cloth.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Lord Shen, singular descendent to the peacock dynasty, heir to the throne." After a sufficient pause, Shen added as an afterthought, "And my lieutenant, Laoban."

"Yo." Laoban half-saluted.

Jinzhang was very still. Shen knew that she knew exactly who he was and what happened five years ago; there wasn't an animal in China that didn't know his name now. She could have said a hundred things, but she simply said, "What do you want."

"Of that," Shen answered, "I am almost certain. But not quite." Jinzhang's ears twitched at the _clack_ of Shen's talons as he strutted toward the stairs, the soft _swish_ of his tail brushing the ground. And just before his descent, he paused and said in his most silken of tones, "We will be in touch."

_No, _thought Shen, as he glided through the temple entrance, _this was not a waste. But a challenge._


	3. An Altercation

III.

"Hello, Mrs. Han."

"Oh, hullo, dear. What'll it be tonight? Noodles?"

"With tofu, please. How have you been?"

"Fine, fine, dear, thank you for asking. You?"

"I met a mass murderer today."

"That's lovely, dear. I'll have your noodles out in a mo."

Jinzhang watched the old yew shuffle off into the kitchen, batting flour off of her apron. "Thank you…," she said quietly, and found herself alone in the cramped servants' quarters, hunched and weary.

She rarely ventured down into the labyrinthine temple caverns. The temple's visitors were largely unaware of its true mass because the bulk of it was built into the mountain and accessible only through secret passages and hidden doors. It was a maze of secluded caverns and tunnels, where masters and students could meditate in peace. Down here, away from the remorseless sun, Jinzhang could remove her blindfold, but she still preferred to spend her time at her lofty post, with its heady smell, dry mountain air, and the continuous sound of running water. She felt so claustrophobic down here, the air heavy with moisture and smelling of stagnation.

Most servants had rooms with cots here, but Jinzhang slept in the rafters above the fountain. She had been dozing when the peacock and his wolf had come. It had been midday, and (being that she was in fact nocturnal) Jinzhang tended to drift off around then whether she liked it or not. But she was a light sleeper and had awoken at the creaking of the staircase, then the soft clack of talons on the wooden floor.

She had yawned, and sleepily released a sound. It was a sound that was, paradoxically, soundless, for only she herself ever seemed to hear it. And when Jinhang heard, she _felt _the sound, felt it wash over her in waves of complex sensation. She didn't fully understand it, but Jinzhang could see without seeing (giving rise to more paradoxes). Almost as quickly as she had released it, the high-pitched tone came back to her ears and conjured up a detailed picture in her mind. It had no color- no light or dark. It was more like a fine-precision, three-dimensional map. All Jinzhang had to do was keep track of the sounds, and her ears would lead her through anything, blindfold or no. Even today, as strange as today had been, they did not disappoint her.

Jinzhang honestly liked most visitors. This position had given her the chance to meet fascinating people from distant lands and she enjoyed their company immensely. She had listened to a thousand stories without protest and would listen to a thousand more. If she could not enjoy the company of a friend, then the company of a stranger was good enough. But now Jinzhang had crossed paths with the disgraced heir, the exiled young prince of China, and her placid existence was rattled.

Mrs. Han returned with noodles and fried tofu in a fragrant orange sauce and Jinzhang thanked her, deftly hiding her dismay. A part of her wanted to beg the old yew for guidance, as she was really the closest thing that Jinzhang had to a true friend. She stayed silent because she sensed somehow that 'close to' was not close enough to share such disturbing information. Still, it was disheartening to be so alone with her thoughts.

Jinzhang did not know how long the peacock had been skulking around the province, but the fact remained that he was dangerous- capable of doing unspeakable things, and apparently without remorse. Jinzhang had been trying not to think about the massacre. She had heard stories from refugees (most notably, from a middle-aged male panda with bloodshot, sorrowful eyes) that had made her muscles go weak with empathetic terror. And _he_ had stood before her, spoken with her. And she had not realized, had never imagined…

Though her appetite was non-exsitent, Jinzhang forced herself to eat, helped Mrs. Han with the dishes, and left, not bothering to replace her blindfold as the sun had set a little while ago. The pupils of her large, black eyes were so enormous that she could see perfectly on a moonless night, but was faced with stabbing pain in the sunlight if her eyes weren't covered.

The night air outside was crisp and clean and Jinzhang bounded to meet more of it. She took a running start and leapt into the air, beating her wings furiously to gain momentum and altitude, and then settling into a lazy glide. She felt cleansed when she flew, rejuvenated. Silver moonlight spilled over the forest and twisting river, and she felt that the world was at peace.

But when she touched down that night, she knew there was still a peacock in the world, his intentions uncertain.

…

Jinzhang awoke restless. That was all she knew for a few sluggish moments before the peacock's words floated back into her consciousness: _We will be in touch,_ he had said. She went over the whole encounter in her mind and found that she had absolutely no idea what he could want from her. She had nothing of value; she herself was not of any great value, to tell the truth. She wished now that she had been more inquisitive- this not knowing was torturous.

Dawn would break soon, so Jinzhang flew into the forest and bathed in the river before replacing her blindfold as she dressed. When she could feel the sun's warmth, she stood on a flat-topped boulder and held her wings open for a while, enjoying the sensation. When she was convinced they were fully dry, she took off in the direction of the village.

The village marketplace was humming with activity by the time Jinzhang arrived. The buzz was a welcome distraction from her problems. As she wandered blithely past stalls, she felt the familiar ripple as the crowd reacted to her presence. They stepped aside to make way, staring and whispering. Some glared outright. Jinzhang's kind no longer lived in this province, and her strangeness made the villagers wary. "She has to come out during the _day,"_ one woman muttered to her nodding friend. Jinzhang was used to it now.

Stall-holders advertised their wares and customers haggled loudly. Their voices bounced off the objects and people around them, creating fractured images of long silk fabrics, iron kitchenware, fresh hanging strips of seasoned tempeh, and tender roasted bamboo sprouts. Jinzhang picked up the enticing smell of ripe strawberries and stopped at the nearby fruit stand with a cheerful greeting.

The commotion began with a hush that immediately caught Jinzhang's attention. It traveled through the crowd as they seemed to realize something what Jinzhang could not. Then the murmurs began. Jinzhang's ears caught words like "wolves," "bandits," and "marauders." Then there was a crash from somewhere on the far end of the marketplace, and people around her began to retreat to their homes, though it appeared that a few were moving to investigate. With some difficulty now, Jinzhang weaved through the crowd. She could hear raised voices, a few panicked cries, and had to turn two corners before she had a clear 'view' of the scene.

There were wolves in the market- seven of them, three female, all of them muscle-bound and grinning. She quickly studied their faces; none of them was Laoban, Shen's right-hand-wolf. But Jinzang felt that there was a fairly good chance that they were from the same pack. They had carved out quite a large portion of the crowd, but some remained, looking scared but defiant.

"We _don't _sell meat here," an older merchant was telling the grizzled old male wolf that seemed to be the leader. His voice was unsteady, but full of contempt. "_None _of us. So… s-so if you don't want a nice bit of tofu, then you'll just have to leave."

"Oh, is _that_ what all this fuss has been about?" The wolf chuckled menacingly. His voice was like wet gravel."Why didn't you say so? You don't have meat in your stand,"-the wolf crouched, his voice deepening to a growl and Jinzhang was running, flying over the heads of terrified onlookers- "I'll just have to rip it off your bones."

And here several things happened nearly at once- the wolf leapt, there was a squeal of dismay from the merchant's wife, and a lean figure stepped from the shadows to stand in the path of the leaping wolf, taking up a stance to repel him, just as a golden-crested bat came hurling from the right and collided heavily with the figure, knocking the both of them out of the wolf's path. Jinzhang hit the ground, rolled sideways, and popped dizzily to her feet. She gasped sharply as she identified the kung fu student she had knocked into.

"Ow! What the- Jinzhang!?"

"Kuai! I'm sorry-"

"What're you _doing?_" The gangly young cheetah called Kuai hopped to his feet and glared daggers at the bat.

"I… I-I was j-just-"

"I was about to kick that wolf's-" Kuai's eyes widened as he remembered the wolves. They both turned their attention to the head wolf, who was standing bemusedly next to the trembling but in-tact merchant. As they watched, the little merchant's eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted wordlessly. A couple wolves snickered.

"We'll discuss this _later_."Kuai said severely, and then charged for the head wolf.

The old wolf was clearly too slow for the cheetah. Kuai kept sneaking in punches and jabs, dodging his opponent's clumsy strikes. Growling furiously, the other six surrounded Kuai. They circled, growling, and the cheetah became distracted trying to keep them all within his sight.

Jinzhang quickly leapt into the fray. She stood with her back to Kuai's, blocking the wolves' access to his blind spots. The low growling intensified, reverberated thickly, appeared in Jinzhang's inner vision like a soupy fog, and for an instant she held the vivid image in her mind; seven narrow faces distorted with menace, too many teeth to count. They all attacked as one. Jinzhang landed a high kick square in a male's chest and sent him flying into the wolf behind him. She aimed to kick another in his snarling face but missed as she was swept off her feet by a low roundhouse from behind. Kuai grabbed her by the wing and hurled her out of range of the fight. "Hey!" She cried, outraged.

"Stay out of my way!"He shouted back, jumping into the air and kicking two wolves in the snout at once. "I'm handling it, Jinzhang!"

"But I can-"

_"I said stay away!"_ he roared, and Jinzhang flinched at the harshness in his tone. She backed away, ears flattened, suddenly crippled with shame and embarrassment. She had acted out of turn, impeded a student. Kuai could get her thrown out of the temple, and she had nowhere else to go. What had she been thinking?

Then, abruptly, the head wolf went still and alert, and as if in answer to some unseen signal, he turned and dashed into the forest, his subordinates close at his heels. Kuai looked perplexed for a moment, then grinned. "Ha ha! Yeah! Yeah, you better run!"

The villagers erupted in joyful cheering, gathering around Kuai and chattering their adulation. Jinzhang could feel how hot her own face was, her throat tight, her heart pounding with hard-to-place emotion. When Kuai caught sight of her past the heads of his admirers, she bowed deeply and departed in a flurry of wing beats.


	4. A Boy

IV.

_"Seven wolves._ Seven! All bested by that- that skinny, pubescent _cat_. Practically a _boy_!"

"We were caught off guard, sir-"

"-made you look like simpering _fools-_"

"-weaponless, sir-"

"- and by extension, me. It was the simplest of plans-"

"- and we weren't allowed to draw blood; as per _your_ orders, lord."

Shen abruptly stopped his frantic pacing and thrust his face within inches of the alpha wolf's snout. "_Her _blood, you imbecile. HERS!"

"That wasn't made clear," he said tightly.

"Oh, so it's _my_ fault, is it?" Shen taunted. His voice climbed several octaves, his crazed eyes popping. _"My fault_ you were nearly defeated by a prancing little-"

"My pack is not responsible for your fixations, Shen."

_"Excuse me?"_

The alpha wolf, called Lang, grimaced, but went on gruffly: "Sometimes I look at you, and all I can see is a spoiled prince."

Shen reared back and struck Lang hard across the face. Several of the gathered pack started or flinched, others simply looked shocked. Many shuffled uncomfortably, fighting the instincts that drove them to come to his aid.

"I saw you out there, old man," Shen said with venom, through the angry panting. "Age has slowed you. That is unacceptable."

The old wolf stood stonily before his master for a few moments, finally bowed shallowly. "My apologies, lord."

Shen seemed to remember the rest of the pack. He looked around at all the averted eyes and scowled. "Laoban."The one-eyed wolf pricked his ears somewhat reluctantly, glancing at the alpha. "Come."

…

_The young cheetah entered her domain for the first time with his left paw held protectively close to his chest. She had watched him train before- his skinny and otherwise awkward body was built for high speeds and flexibility. He was a brilliant fighter. She didn't know his name._

_He struggled with the water bowl, one-handed, until Jinzhang swooped to his aid. She handed the water to him with a smile. _

_"Oh, uh…" He cleared his throat, uncomfortable with assistance, but took it with a grateful bow of the head. "I've heard of you. You're the keeper, yeah? Um. Jinzhang." _

_Flattered that he knew her name, Jinzhang nodded, felt her face flush. She was shy around the students. In many ways, she envied them._

_"Are you really uh…" He waved his good paw before his own eyes, a useless gesture if she had really been sightless. _

_She laughed and shook her head. "I can see at night. Shall I get you something for your paw?"_

_"Ah… no, no that's alright… Wait a second, how-?" But Jinzhang had already disappeared into the back room, where she had a store of various fruits and herbs, and a pot of water for tea boiling over the small fire. She retrieved a small square of cloth, soaked it in the hot water, grabbed something off a shelf, and came back to the cheetah. He let her press the cloth gingerly to his paw and they stayed standing that way until the silence grew awkward and he pulled away. _

_"Thank you. I should, ah…" He trailed off and she nodded, handing him a strip of dried ginger root. "For the pain," she said_

_He sniffed it and wrinkled his nose like a child. She chuckled. "It will help."_

_"Well. Thanks… some more." After a pause he smiled crookedly. "You're not the way I imagined you'd be- from the talk, I mean." Jinzhang didn't know why this sent a thrill of pleasure through her. _

_With a little wave, the cheetah turned and went down the stairs. Half a minute later, Jinzhang heard him clomp noisily back up them. "Forgot," he huffed. "Kuai. That's my name. See ya!"_

…

Jinzhang could not bear to meet anyone on the climb through the temple, so she instead squeezed her thin body through a narrow hole in the shingled roof and dropped down into the fountain's chamber. She stumbled upon landing and leaned her back against the cool stone wall, sucking in unsteady breaths.

Her heart wouldn't slow its frantic pace- She was scared of the way she was trembling, desperate for comfort. "Dad…"Her voice shook. She slid down the wall, choking on tears, wrapped her long wings around herself. "I'm so alone now."


	5. Flying Fox

V.

_"Dad! Daddy, look! Dad!" _

_"Jinzhang?"The old fox turned on the temple steps and suppressed a startled laugh as he caught site of the little bat. "My, you're filthy."_

_Jinzhang caught up to him. "Omi and Zei and Peiyun," she panted, entirely out of breath. "Look!" She puffed out her chest with a grin. _

_"You'll need another bath." The fox tutted, kneeling to get a better look at her. The blond fur that wreathed her face was darkened and matted with what appeared to be red clay. It was also smeared on her forehead and around her eyes. _

_"Zei and Peiyun and Omi!" Jinzhang insisted hurriedly. _

_"The village children?"_

_"Mm," she squeaked, nodding her head frantically. "We were playing an' Peiyun brought her ball and I learned kicking!" She demonstrated this by kicking as hard and high as she could, and nearly fell backward in her zeal. This earned her another laugh from her father. "But that's not the best!" she squealed. "The _best _is-"_

_"What _is_ that on your chin?" Distracted, the fox leaned in and wiped at the chalky white substance with the pad of his paw, leaving a pocket of the bat's dark skin beneath the mask. _

_Seeing this, the bat gave a sudden cry. "NO!" she yelled, shrilly. "Put it back!" She leapt forward and struggled to pry open his paw. _

_"Jinzhang!" he said sharply, "What's gotten into you?"_

_"I _need_ it!" The girl howled. _

_The fox glanced around to see a few kung fu disciples glancing over in interest. He then caught Jinzhang around her middle and marched purposefully into the temple. He scaled the steps until he reached the fountain's chamber and dumped her unceremoniously on the wooden floor. _

_"You _never _speak to me in that manner. Do you understand?" _

_The little bat stared up at him. Tears streamed down her face and cut dark tracks in the white dust around her nose and mouth. _

_"What _is _this?"_ _He showed her the smear of white on his palm._

_Jinzhang looked at the floor with her large, watery eyes and muttered, "Peiyun's mother's face powder." The old fox cocked his head. "She dances," the bat offered, as if that explained everything. _

_He took a deep breath. "Why is it on your face?"_

_She said something, so softly that he couldn't hear. _

_"Jinzhang."_

_Jinzhang's compact little body seemed to inflate with the effort of holding back more tears. She exploded. "I thought you'd like it!" she shouted, her voice cracking pathetically. "They said they could make me a fox! Don't I look like you? They said they could do it!" She began to sob in earnest. "They said they could…" _

_The fox was at a loss for a moment. "Oh dear," he said, noticing something else. "They bound your wings?" The long spines of Jinzhang's wings were tied to her forearms, pinning them closed. He made to undo the twine, but she hopped away desperately. He scowled. _

_"Jinzhang…" he said in a dangerous voice. She flinched. "Come here. Now."_

_She was motionless for an excruciating second, and then she dipped her head and walked sulkily to him. He quickly untied the twine that bound her wings. "I'm sorry," she whispered in a small, strangled voice._

_The fox looked at his adoptive daughter, sighed, and took her by the wing into the washroom where he scrubbed the clumps of clay from her fur. "Why ever would you want to be a fox?" he asked quietly, though he knew the answer._

_"You're a fox," came the reply. "And… I want people to like me."_

_"There's nothing wrong with the way you look now."_

_"But there is! People ignore me and…" She trailed off. _

_The fox pursed his lips. "The children still make fun of you." He deduced. "I thought all that was over with."_

_She shook her head and they both remained in silence for quite a while. He was thoughtful as he dried her off, her fur back to its natural black and yellow. When she was dry, he turned her around. Her great big eyes were solemn. _

_She blinked as her father took her face in his big paws and said, "Don't you ever let someone do this to you again. You must promise me."_

_"But I wanted it."_

_"Doesn't matter. You're a bat, Jinzhang." He grimaced as her face crumpled with grief. "Hey. Hey, don't look that way. You are exactly who you are, and I love you. It would be such a waste to cover you up." He gave her a quick, affectionate lick on the cheek. She smiled._

_That was the day he began to teach Jinzhang kung fu. _

…

The ceremony of student inauguration came around only once every four months. It was a day for adult students- new and old- to prove their skill and move into the advanced training phase of their education. Few made it each year. For many, it took several dedicated years or more of trying to earn their place in the advanced class and become a 1st level master. Some never made it at all.

The hopefuls and their masters assembled early that morning, before the sun cleared the mountains. The chilly air was taught with suppressed excitement. Among the students were a few unfamiliar faces; villagers with ambitious dreams. Those who had not trained in the temple were at an obvious disadvantage. After they initially failed the tests, they typically never returned. Kuai was also in the assembly. He could be seen shifting his weight subtly every few minutes, tapping his palm against his leg to release nervous energy. This was his second time trying out for the advanced group.

Grand Master Huli-Jing, the head monk and respected leader of the temple soon appeared and took his place at the base of the temple steps, ready to oversee the proceedings. He received a deep and unanimous bow from the students and instructors, along with a quiet acknowledgment of "Master," from those assembled. The master nodded back.

From beneath the cover of a tree on the outskirts of the grounds, Jinzhang crouched and waited. Master Huli-Jing looked thinner and somehow frailer than she remembered, and his fur greyer. But he still reminded the bat of her father. His elegant, narrow features cut an imposing profile. He stood tall and straight, and his bushy red tail, tipped with white, could be seen swishing gently from beneath his faded orange robe.

The ceremony began. Jinzhang watched closely as one young hopeful after another stepped forward. There were three challenges. The first was a simple test of fitness: a timed run around the obstacle course. The second was a test of hand-to-hand combat with another student, chosen at random. This was the challenge that always tripped the villagers up- they simply didn't have the training. The third was free-style martial arts. It was a chance for the young warrior to show off his or her own unique attributes.

A villager volunteered first. Though plenty confident, the temple students were generally too humble to go first. The volunteer was a hulking female warthog. She blazed through the obstacle course in fairly good time by lowering her head and charging through the obstacles, knocking them aside like matchsticks. She was tough, but the student chosen to fight her, a clever duck named Rai, confused her by feigning and managed to flip her onto her back. A couple of students snickered meanly when the match was called.

Rai went next, completing all his challenges, and then Kuai stepped forward. Despite his nervousness, Jinzhang thought that he looked poised and handsome in the soft lantern light. He bowed to his master and then to Huli-Jing before beginning the course. Kuai was incredibly fast- faster than anyone Jinzhang new. His legs propelled him like a firework, until he was not so much running as gliding through turns and over walls, across pits and under projectiles. It was brilliant to watch.

His opponent in the second task was Jun, a broad-shouldered ox. Kuai had no problem taking him down, using the ox's own strength against him. Jinzhang caught Master Huli-jing nodding. She knew what he was thinking; the cheetah had improved significantly since their last meeting.

It came time for his last challenge. Kuai turned to his master, who nodded with a smile and produced a bow and arrow from beneath his robes. The student took them and held the tip of the arrow over the wick of a nearby lantern so that it caught fire, then loaded the bow, aimed just slightly above his head, and let it loose. The arrow sliced through the air in a wide, dazzling arc. Kuai dropped the bow, glanced around at his audience, and with a rather cocky salute, he bounded in the direction of the arrow, his speed dizzying. Awed, Jinzhang watched the cheetah gain ground on the arrow, spring forward, and catch it in his teeth in midair.

Without slowing, he turned and sprinted back, trailing smoke and sparks behind him. He finally skidded to a halt at Grand Master Huli-Jing's feet. He faced the old fox, kneeling respectfully, and buried the flaming tip of the arrow in the dirt before him, like an offering. The fox maintained his regal expression, but his black eyes flashed delightedly.

"Thank you for your contribution, young pupil," said the master. "Who will step forward to follow him?"

Jinzhang felt her heart race and her body and mind buzz in euphoric harmony. It was time. Her fingers shaking, she pulled the black cloth from the sash around her waist and tied it over her eyes.

"I will!" All heads turned as the bat slid from the shadows of the trees and strode onto the training grounds. "I would like to try out, Master." She brought her wings together and bowed deeply. Her big ears were met with tense silence. She waited for Huli-Jing's response.

Kuai looked frantically from Jinzhang to Master Huli-Jing. "_What are you doing?"_ He hissed. He looked to the fox, and with a bow he said in a rush, "Master, I beg your pardon. Jinzhang hasn't been in her right mind lately." He gripped her shoulder and gave a meaningful tug. "I'll just escort her back to her quar-"

"No." The master's voice was hushed. His eyes were cold. "This ceremony is open to all."

Jinzhang gratefully came out of her bow. Kuai obviously wanted to protest, but knew he mustn't. With a conflicted look of concern and anger, he backed away. Jinzhang took her place at the start of the course and waited for the signal. She released a noiseless sound that bounced off every crevice of the course. For one clear moment, she saw her path clearly, perfectly. She was light-headed with adrenaline but her mind was clear. That moment was all she needed. The signal was raised.

Jinzhang was sprinting, flying. Her feet cleared several hurdles consecutively before she met the ground. The climbing wall was hurdling toward her so she leapt, beat her wings, and it was gone. She dived through hoops and dodged wooden missiles. She danced through a forest of sharp, steel wire and rolled deftly beneath a swinging dummy. The finish came too quickly. Jinzhang grinned. She felt like she was floating.

As a servant scribbled down her time, she waited patiently for her opponent. But before the instructor could assign someone, Huli-Jing spoke: "That's very clever, _bat._" He bit at the word like it was a curse. "I suppose I should have expected this… yes. Your opponent will be Kuai."

Jinzhang felt suddenly like she was being punished for something. She turned to gauge Kuai's reaction. He was aghast. He was probably afraid of hurting her. He stepped into the sparing ring, faced her, and they bowed. He took up his stance- mantis style, arms up in a boxing position. She took up her own stance- a combination of eagle and crane style, knees and ankles bent, shoulders rolled back and wings spread.

"Don't look so serious, Kuai."

The cheetah scowled. They heard the signal to begin and Jinzhang struck first- bluntly, with the back of her wing. He stepped back, his eyes on her wing, and was taken off-guard by an upward kick that met him roughly under the chin. Her fingers shot out and brushed his neck.

"Point!" yipped the servant, and Kuai's eyes goggled. Two more points and the match would be Jinzhang's.

They resumed their positions. The signal sounded. Kuai leapt at her then rolled under her swipe and landed a sharp jab in her lower back. She stumbled and rounded on him. They exchanged a series of quick punches, all deflected by the other. Kuai grunted, impatient, went to knee her in the stomach, but was whacked on the side by a sweeping wing. He quickly covered his defenses, but it was too late. "Point!" declared the servant as Jinzhang landed a hearty blow in his ribs.

The cheetah gritted his teeth, breathing harshly through his nose. Jinzhang was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this arrangement. Behind her, the watching hopefuls and masters were eerily silent. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something wrong. The signal sounded again.

When Jinzhang watched students spar in the courtyard, she found it mesmerizing. It looked like a dance to her. It was the ebb and flow, the seamless cooperation, the grace of interaction that made her heart flutter. But this was somehow a different matter. Kuai's feet and hands bobbed in complicated patterns. He was graceful as ever and yet it was not about form or grace or strength of mind. It was a struggle. And Jinzhang just wanted it to end.

Kuai jabbed again and this time the bat latched onto his arm at the elbow and threw him fluidly over her shoulder. He lay there, stunned, as they both realized it was over. "Point. Match: Jinzhang," said the servant. Jinzhang blinked stupidly beneath her blindfold. She thought of offering a hand as Kuai got up, but was afraid that he would resent it. He shot several venomous glances in her direction as he re-joined the throng of hopefuls.

"That is enough," Jinzhang heard Huli-Jing say. She raised her head. The fox was frowning deeply, his voice hard.

"Master?"

"Enough. I felt that perhaps you would learn your lesson if I allowed you to overstep your boundaries, but it seems that you have learned nothing."

Jinzhang stepped back, alarmed. "…I'm sorry. I don't know what I've done, but-"

"No, you don't. That is what troubles me." Huli-Jing continued darkly. "You are truly a shameful creature, for you show no remorse. In this brazen, disrespectful display, you have disgraced this temple, you have disgraced these students, and you disgrace your father. I don't know what my brother has told you, bat, but you will_ never_ be a kung fu master."

Jinzhang shrank away from his words. Her mind raced. "But I don't understand… Uncle…" she appealed pleadingly.

"DO NOT," Huli-Jing roared abruptly. "You WILL NEVER address me so, do you understand?!"

"Yes!" Jinzhang chirped helplessly. "Yes… I'm sorry."

"Listen well, bat. I have given you a home here when no other would waste food or space on you. I have given you a _place," _uttered the grand master. "And it is _there_ that you must stay."Jinzhang was speechless. Her stomach felt tight and weighted. After a moment, it appeared that he had nothing more to say.

Trembling, she walked mechanically away from the training grounds, into the temple, up the stairs, into the fountain's chamber. It was still dark enough here that she removed her blindfold and dropped it carelessly on the floor. She kneeled to scoop up spring water and drink from her cupped wings, found herself staring at her reflection in the agitated surface. She was still for what seemed like a very long time.

"It's ok," she finally said shakily to her reflection. "I'm alright. I'm happy here. In the dark…" The image in the water looked as if it didn't believe her.

"It's ok."


	6. Shadow

VI.

Jinzhang did not look up at the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs. She stared into the rippling water as an oddly familiar stranger reached the chamber, coughed lightly. From the vibrations in the room, she could tell that it was a wolf- one that she recognized. He had been among the seven trouble-makers in the village. Jinzhang studied her own black eyes in the fountain's mirrored surface and waited for the wolf to speak.

"Hey," the wolf began uneasily. He sounded young- younger even than Jinzhang herself. "You remember me? Eh… maybe not. But, well, sorry about that whole… threatening to eat people thing. We were just messing." Jinzhang still did not look up.

"Anywho, eh, I'm supposed to deliver a message to you. From my master, Lord Shen?" The bat's ears pricked. As overwhelmed as she was currently feeling, the confirmation that the peacock was responsible for the incident in the village still produced a dull stab of anger within her. Jinzhang stood slowly and looked at the wolf.

"And his highness couldn't bother to deliver the message himself?"

The wolf shrugged noncommittally. "You wanna hear it, er what?"

"I don't care."And Jinzhang really didn't. She didn't know what the peacock was after, but she knew she wanted nothing to do with him. The wolf, however, seemed to take this reply as a go-ahead.

"You're off the hook," he said.

"What?"

"My lord has decided you're not the warrior he's looking for. You're off the hook. That's the short version, anyway."

They stared at each other across the room. "…What?"

The wolf sighed impatiently. "You deaf too?"

"I- no, I'm- I'm not… What?"

The wolf cocked his head. "You didn't know? The boss wants a new warrior. We're building an empire." The wolf waved his arms vaguely. "I mean, that's the idea. Guess you didn't get the hint, eh?" he snorted, showing his yellowed teeth.

"He thinks _I'm _a_ warrior_?" Jinzhang asked, uncomprehending.

"Well, not anymore," said the wolf indelicately. "Oh, that's the other bit. He says he's disappointed. Says you're soft."

"Disappointed," she repeated numbly. "I didn't do anything."

"Exactly," he chuckled, then at her stricken look, he grimaced a little regretfully. "Eh, sorry. Bummer there."

"No… _no_," she felt suddenly outraged. "I mean I didn't _do_ anything! I didn't sign up for some kind of _test_! I didn't agree to this. I would never _consider _it!" Jinzhang threw her wings up in exasperation. "And you can tell _his majesty_ that I don't care _who_ he is, this is _my home._ I don't care that he's _disappointed_- I don't care about _any of it_, I just- I just _don't care!_ Alright?"

"Y-yeah- no problem." Jinzhang had the wolf backed up against a wall. She was on her tip-toes but still five or six inches shorter than him. Her face glared into his defiantly. Her nerves were frayed, her self esteem crushed, and she couldn't take it anymore.

…

That evening, the wolf Shen had sent up the mountain returned, looking tired and a little put-out. His pack was just sitting down to a dinner of boiled bamboo shoots and rice. They scarcely saw meat any longer. Shen ate apart from them.

"Boss."The returning wolf greeted Lang, the dominant male, received a curt nod, and then sat beside a cheerful Loaban and warmed his aching paws by the bonfire. When offered a bowl of river water, he lapped at it greedily, panting.

"Aw, did Little Miss Batty give you trouble? Poor pup." Laoban ribbed him good-naturedly.

"Sure took you long enough, sonny," an older female added. "We were about to send in the brigade!" The messenger wolf growled roughly, shaking water droplets out of his fur.

"Leave me be!" he muttered. "I just got a little… sidetracked on the way back-"

"He got lost!" Laoban hooted, clapping the younger wolf on the back. Collective laughter mingled with mealtime chatter.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"So what _did_ the bat say?" asked a dusky female, leaning eagerly over so that she could hear above the raucous. "She mad?" The messenger wolf, suddenly flattered by the attention, smiled around, noticing that a few others- even the popular Laoban- were now eying him.

"Well yeah, 'course," he said matter-of-factly. "Mad as a rattlesnake. She wanted another chance, but-"

"It doesn't matter what she said." The young wolf jumped at the sound of his master's voice. Lord Shen stepped slowly into the firelight, his crimson eyes glowing. The pack fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"The message was merely a courtesy." Shen continued. "I am nothing if not a gentleman." Laoban snorted into his rice. Shen shot him a glance, but said no more.

"Of course, master," said the messenger wolf, bowing low.

"Lang." Ignoring the messenger, the peacock addressed the alpha male of the pack. The alpha looked to Shen so old, hunched, and wary- like a general that had seen too much war. "We will depart this place at dawn. Be ready."

Lang nodded. "Farther west?"

Shen shook his head."Southeast."

"South?" The old wolf paled. South, toward the heart of China… "Sir… the risk of capture-"

"I am tired of these rural wastelands," Shen snapped. "How will we ever gain allies if we do not first take risks?"

For the second time in two days, Shen watched the old alpha bite his tongue. He bowed his grizzled head. "Sir."

Shen stood there for a moment, surveying his subordinates. He was fully aware of the tension in the air. With a dissatisfied huff, he turned and left the campsite, his long tail billowing behind him.

The air cooled as the sun set below jagged mountaintops in the distance. Shen, in need of silence and contemplation, had followed the river all the way to the lake that it fed. It was a tranquil scene; the full moon glowed pale, pale white- a cool, sterile color that calmed Shen's nerves and glinted off his pristine feathers. The stars- perfect pinpricks of light- were doubled in the calm surface of the water. Shen stood in the sheltering cover of the forest and stared out at the moon- the way he had when he was a child, and let his mind wander.

Shen blinked, frowned. For the briefest of moments, a dark shadow had flitted across the pale orb of the moon and out of sight. Tensing, Shen searched the night sky for the shadow with narrowed eyes, but spotted nothing. Had it been real?

Then it came back into sight as a blur, dropping fast and straight down toward the surface of the lake. The shadow hurdled down, down, was only a foot or so away from the surface when it unraveled its long wings and pulled sharply out of the descent to glide over the lake, its dark reflection sailing with it like tandem flyers. The shadow then flapped its wings once, sending twin trails of glistening water leaping into the air, catching the moonlight like diamonds. Water streamed off the tips of the creature's wings as it gained altitude, only to flip nimbly backward and swoop down, over the water again.

Shen stepped slowly out of the forest brush and into sight, transfixed. He discovered that he was holding his breath, and released it. The bat- for it was now clearly a bat- was the most agile thing Shen had ever seen. Once again close to the water's surface, she whirled sideways in a marvelous corkscrew, kicking up more of that crystalline water. She came out of it flapping vigorously, to gain speed. She dived and she twisted, dipped and somersaulted. She was breathtaking, fantastic. Shen felt suddenly, elatedly, and perhaps for the first time, that he had been wrong.

Jinzhang turned abruptly in Shen's direction, her elegant silhouette contrasting sharply with the moon at her back. Shen took up a defensive stance as she swooped toward him. He fingered the smooth silver daggers in his sleeves, his tail reflexively unfurling in a wide arc around his body. He saw her eyes- huge and black and unearthly, saw her wings rotate to create drag to slow her. Her feet hit the ground sprinting and Shen barely had time to block against an onslaught of punches. His wings were jarred with the force of them.

After the initial, stunned moment, Shen retaliated. He hopped away and turned swiftly, lashing at her feet with his long tail. She leapt away, darted back in where Shen waited with a sideways slice, which she blocked and returned with healthy punch that he dodged. He punched in succession, she weaved. She kicked, he parried. They fell into a rhythm of attack and avoidance, matching the other's moves smoothly, effortlessly.

Shen's heart was pounding and this felt so right, so centered, so profound that all he could do was laugh and feel the flow, feel his body react without thought or reason. The two of them were beings of pulsing energy, full of movement and sound and the rush of cool night air threw his lungs. He had quite forgotten about the daggers up his sleeve. He was caught up in the revelry that existed in these small moments.

Almost as soon as Shen began to recognize that his muscles were starting to ache, Jinzhang hit him in the middle with a devastating kick that winded him and sent him skidding backward, armored talons digging grooves in the soil. Exausted, his legs buckled underneath him, and the dance ended.

They looked at each other, both bruised and panting. Shen felt as though he was coming out of a trance. Jinzhang walked unsteadily toward him, stopped a few feet away and stood there, catching her breath.

"I am not soft," she said through her teeth, staring levelly into his eyes. "I am Jinzhang, daughter and successor of Han-lou, the former Keeper of the Fountain of Wisdom. And I. Am. _Not_. A disgrace."

Something dark and nameless burned in her big eyes. They stared at each other until Jinzhang's fire dissipated, her expression softened slowly. Shen cocked his head.

"Not aiming to kill me?" _As if he would let her._

Jinzhang looking momentarily blank then shook her head. "No, I… uh."

Shen rose slowly, fanning his tail behind him. She stared openly at the array of white and crimson feathers, and Shen rather enjoyed her flustered expression.

"The- uh, the wolf told me you are looking for a warrior," the bat said distractedly.

"Did he, now?" Shen said coolly.

"I know that you tried to test me by sending those wolves into the village," she continued. "That I failed."

"Yes… Hypothetically, let's say we were to forget that business in the village. Let us say that my offer still stands." His voice was dark and smooth. "What would you say?"

"Offer?" Jinzhang asked skeptically. "I was under the impression you just bullied people into getting what you want."

The peacock laughed lowly. "Shall I assume that's a-"

"A no. Yeah, you can," she said bluntly. Shen smirked.

"That's too bad," Shen said with a suave little toss of his head. "Who was it that called you a disgrace?"

"Huh?"

"It wasn't me, Jinzhang. Who was it? Someone from the temple, I'd wager."

"That's none of your business."

"They don't respect you there. None of them. And it's a shame." –He stepped in close- "You have so much to offer."

Jinzhang recoiled. "If you assist me in my quest," he pressed, "you will one day be more revered than you can imagine. When I am emperor-"

"Stop," Jinzhang said suddenly. "You're wasting your time." She turned her back on him and began to walk away.

Shen's jaw set, but he kept his voice calm. "I could give you everything-"

"And it would be worth nothing," Jinzhang said before leaping into the air and taking flight.

He watched her go. "Perhaps you'd prefer fool's gold," he said quietly, as she disappeared among the stars.


	7. Lieutenant

VII.

_The palace gardens were thick with flowers this time of year. Pagodas and statues of past emperors dotted the landscape, and a rocky creek meandered, burbling, through the scene._

_Shen crouched under an azalea bush, his pale feathers shifting as he breathed. His big eyes, puffy and dark-rimmed with lack of sleep, stared out through the tangle of leaves and pink blossoms. He could hear the wolf approaching and his heart sped up. He saw two grey paws, bound in leather straps, pause just outside Shen's hiding place. The paws moved on and Shen released the breath he had been holding. He leaned forward, straining to see where the wolf had gone-_

_"Gotcha!" Shen squealed quite girlishly and burst from the bush. _

_Whooping with triumph, the pup tore after him. He caught up to the skinny peacock and, reaching out to tag him, tripped and sent them both rolling on the cobbled path. Their exhilaration dissolved into belly-aching laughter. _

_Panting, Shen finally said, "I thought I had a good spot this time!" He was really a little annoyed. The wolf pup _always_ found him, and quickly. Shen was beginning to think that it was because of his unnatural coloring- pure white against, well, anything, stuck out like an ugly weed among flowers. _

_"It was your tail," said the wolf pup, grinning. Shen groaned. His tail was beginning to grow longer and longer plumes with each molting season and Shen sometimes forgot how big it was. _

_"It'll be as long as my father's one day." Or so he hoped. Shen wanted desperately to look more like his father. _

_The wolf nodded, thoughtfully. "He must be _terrible_ at hide-and-seek."_

_"Come on." Shen got to his feet. "_You_ have to hide, this time."_

_"Oh…" The pup grimaced, looking at the sun, which was low and red. "Actually, I think I have to go…"_

_"What? Why?"_

_"My mom's gonna be pretty sore with me as it is, Shen."_

_"Your mom? But I'm the prince," Shen whined. "Guards have to do what I-"_

_"Laoban!" The pup flinched and Shen turned to see Laoban's mother trudging irritably up the garden path. "I have been looking everywhere for you. You told me you would –oh, hello young prince- you would be back by _noon_! I hope you know you lost your dinner three hours ago."_

_"Aw, moooom…" Laoban howled. _

_"And don't whine like that, you're in the presence of royalty."_

_"Who, _Shen?_ He doesn't care- ouch!" The mother wolf twisted Laoban's ear smartly and turned her attention to the prince. _

_"I beg your pardon, young prince, but you shouldn't be out all alone with nothing but my _ragamuffin son_ for protection. Please allow me to escort you to the palace."_

_"Ah…" Shen hesitated. What choice did he have? "Yes, thank you." _

_And so the mother wolf padded back to the Palace of Gongmen with both children in tow._

…

Shen had clashed horns with Lang for the last time. The peacock burst from the brush and stormed violently through the campsite after a heated conversation with the haggard old wolf about Shen's decision to prolong their stay in the northern province.

"We are but a stone's throw from the temple, sir." The alpha male had explained urgently, in the moderate privacy of a clearing apart from camp. "We have pushed our luck far enough as it is."

"_I_ decide where and when this pack of half-wits proceeds. You answer to _me_. The temple is not any real threat."

The old wolf's dark, greying fur was beginning to stand on end in aggravation. "They could alert the stewardship of your presence. They may have already done so." Shen scoffed, but Lang continued desperately. "They have _seen_ you, sir. My primary concern is your safety, my lord."

"And _my _primary concern is _grander_ than your petty fears. That is why _I _am lord and you servant." Shen turned away dismissively and expected the altercation to be over, but he heard the alpha wolf release a frustrated growl.

"Don't ask this of me. I will _not_ make my pack into a stationary target!"

Shen whirled around, dagger poised at the wolf's belly, like a snake ready to strike. "Ask?" Shen said lowly. "I do not _ask_ anything of you, wolf. Perhaps you have forgotten."

Lang swallowed shallowly. "You kill me, Shen," he said, "And their allegiance to you is forfeit." Shen nearly wavered, but stood his ground.

"Would you like me to find out?"

A tense pause. "…No." The alpha male backed away, his head bowed. Shen sheaved his weapon.

"Then _stay put._"

Now fuming, Shen barged into Laoban's makeshift hut with a murderous look on his slender face. Laoban's guest, a pretty brown-flecked she-wolf, jumped up and bowed, jittering a hurried apology for nothing in particular. Shen waved her away impatiently.

A flicker of annoyance crossed Laoban's face as the female nervously exited the hut. "Can I help you?"

Shen glowered. "I've just had another _stimulating_ conversation with your commander."

Laoban inched away from his master. "And by _stimulating,_ you mean…?"

"The dog is infuriating!"

"Oh… Oh, right."

"What did you _think_ I-?"Shen looked up to see the wolf snickering delightedly. "Oh, shut up, you idiot. Lang seems to doubt my leadership. In fact, he actively undermines it."

Laoban nodded sympathetically. "Well, you know how he is. Bit set in his ways, I guess."

"I'm growing tired of his insolence."

"But I mean," the wolf continued, "he's been the boss since… forever, so…" Shen rolled his eyes at this. Laoban shrugged."Longer than I've been alive, anyway." The wolf trailed off, no doubt caught up in memories of the palace. Shen suddenly felt that he should cut to chase before things got sentimental.

"This is a new era," he said, eyeing his childhood friend carefully, "and it's time for a new dominant male."

Laoban looked at Shen, hoping perhaps that the peacock was joking. And of course he wasn't. The wolf swallowed dryly. "Sir… I don't, ah-"

"I don't, of course, pretend to be an expert on the ins and outs of pack hierarchy, but I believe that any male can challenge and potentially usurp the existing alpha?"

Laoban found himself nodding stiffly. Shen smiled deviously and said, "It will be you."

The wolf balked. "What?"

"You are already my second in command. This is the natural step," Shen said. "In fact, I'm rather surprised we haven't done this sooner."

"Wait a second!" Laoban jumped to his feet, stunned. "Wait. You want me-" He glanced about, then lowered his voice anxiously. "You want me to _challenge_ the _boss?_"

"Yes."

_"Why?"_

Shen sighed in annoyance. "I was under the impression that we had already established this. I need him out of the way. He is a hindrance. You're the only one I trust enough to-"

"But… he's the _boss._"

"Why are you being so obtuse about this?"

"Wha- me?! Why am… What about _you?"_ The wolf spluttered. "Do you even understand what you're asking? He's… he's-"

"He's a fool past his prime."

"But I- I couldn't, sir. I can't."

Shen bristled. "_I_ am your lord, your leader, your _priority._ You will do as I say."

"But what about _him?_"

"What _about_ him? He's weak."

Laoban's face contorted with anger, his teeth bared. "What, so that's it? He's gotten old, so he's worthless? Who else are you gonna throw away?"

"Don't be a coward," Shen seethed. "I'm granting you an honor-"

"Well you can keep it!" Laoban shouted. "Go find someone else to _honor_!"

Shen's mind crackled with hot rage. His armored foot shot out, metal flashing, and raked across the wolf's face. Laoban stumbled to the ground, clutching his cheek. He stared up at the peacock with venom before darting out of the cramped hut, leaving Shen with blood on his talons.

…

_"Laobaaaaan… Hey, Laoban!" Laoban grumbled under his breath, digging deeper into his bundle of blankets, and tried to force himself to sleep. _

_"… I know you're there," came the annoyed voice. "I'll wake your mother if you don't answer." The pup's eyes flew open and he leapt out of bed. _

_"Where are you?"_

_"Out here." The voice was coming from Laoban's bedroom window. Glancing around to assure himself that none of his brothers had woken, Laoban jumped up and latched his little claws onto the windowsill. Hanging there, he peeked awkwardly down at the small white peacock._

_"You're not supposed to be out at night," said the pup, remembering his own mother's words. "You'll catch begonia."_

_Shen squinted. "I'll what?" _

_"You'll get sick," amended Laoban, a little proud he knew a word that Shen did not. _

_"I don't care." Shen ruffled his downy tail feathers fiercely. "I brought you something." _

_"Is it grilled salmon?"_

_"I- no. Why would you think that?"_

_The pup scowled meaningfully until Shen comprehended. "Oh… right." He shrugged. "You should have gone home when you said you would."_

_"I was _going_ to!" cried the wolf. "But you said that you would have me beheaded if I didn't play with you!"_

_The peacock sniffed. "I don't remember that."_

_"Oh, whatever," Laoban grumbled. "What're you holding?"_

_"Oh, right!" Shen said excitedly. "Come out and I'll show you."_

_"But I'll get in even _more_ trouble!" _

_"Thought you were a wolf, not a chicken," Shen quipped._

_Laoban frowned. "… fine." _

_Once outside, Shen handed the bemused pup what appeared to be a thin metal rod. It was very light in Laoban's paw. "… What is it?"_

_"Drag the tip on the stone path," Shen directed. _

_Laoban did so. He gasped and nearly dropped the stick as its top portion was enveloped in thousands of tiny, snaking orange tendrils of light, accompanied by dazzling white sparks. Shen laughed at the wolf's expression._

_"What _is_ it?" Laoban asked, awed. _

_"Iron, magnesium, and potassium nitrate," Shen answered cheerfully. "My own recipe." He looked suddenly worried. "But don't tell anybody."_

_Laoban nodded slowly, his eyes still trained on the dancing sparks. "Nuh-uh… I won't."_

_Shen smiled broadly. His eyes shone brightly in the light of his home-made sparkler. _

_"I've decided," he said abruptly._

_"Huh? Decided what?"_

_"That you're my second-in-command. My lieutenant." _

_The pup blinked. "I am?"_

_"Yep," Shen answered, grinning. "You are."_

…

Days passed in which Lord Shen disappeared for long stretches of time. It was extremely unusual for the peacock to venture very far without the protection of a few wolves- particularly without Laoban, the one-eyed wolf. And yet each morning he would be gone, only returning late in the evening.

Laoban knew that Shen had resumed his pursuit of the bat. But he didn't know why. He didn't ask, either. He carried on under the assumption that this was just one of Shen's passing fancies, his brief obsessions, and that he would soon loose interest in her. Meanwhile Laoban felt, as he knew the rest of his pack must also feel, strangely torn. Something that held the bond between Shen and his wolves was fading, somehow. They were growing restless, turning away from their master, and Laoban didn't know how to stop the deterioration.

The atmosphere at camp was miserably tense. The old alpha wolf's resolve seemed to harden with each passing day. On the fifth day, the tension ignited like wildfire.

It began that morning, when the old alpha called Lang threw back his head and released one long howl. It reverberated throughout the campsite, ringing cleanly in the mountain air, calling his pack to his side.

Shen burst out of his hut, disoriented and angry. "What is the meaning of this?!" he cried. Lang only looked at him- straight into his eyes until Shen's own eyes widened in horror. "No." He said it quietly.

"You were once a prince in need of our protection, our fealty. You could have been great." The old wolf's eyes were in the past.

Shen searched the faces- he saw hardened expressions and grieving ones. He saw, in a moment of nauseous clarity, how handsome those lupine faces were, with almond shaped eyes and symmetrical patterns of dark and light fur. They were his allies, his shield, his only companions. He knew none of them would stay.

Then he found Laoban's face. The one-eyed wolf was pained, frantic. He seemed to be searching for a solution. He met Shen's eyes and saw the hope in them, but there stood his pack, his home, his family. His own loyalty was driving him mad.

Lang spoke again: "We followed you because of our devotion to you and your cause. But you are not the prince you used to be. We see now that the reign of the peacock has ended." The wolf bowed to Shen for the last time, and his pack followed suit. Shen could do nothing but stare at his oldest friend as the one-eyed wolf turned away, following his pack and his instincts.

"Farewell." Later, Shen couldn't remember who said it.


	8. Alone

VIII.

For four long days, Jinzhang stewed restlessly in her loft, living off the fountain water and the dried fruit she kept in her reserves. No one visited her and she began to feel moody in her isolation.

Winter was approaching; she could hear the scurry of activity beneath her feet as servants and students prepared for the coming festival. She found, for the first time, that she was beginning to resent the holiday. She had no one to celebrate with. Since her father's passing three years previous, she had made a tradition of spending the festival with Mrs. Han, who was also without a family. But Mrs. Han had remarried earlier that year and Jinzhang new she shouldn't impose on the new couple. So she would remain with the fountain.

_And what?_ she had lately been asking herself, _Wait for something new to come along and save you from your loneliness? What if nothing, no one, comes? What if you are truly alone? How long will you stay this way?_

Jinzhang truly, honestly didn't know the answers. And a part of her was scared. These thoughts clung to her like parasitic worms, shadowed her pacing footsteps and weighed her down with gnawing anxiety. It was so unlike her to dwell. She felt as though she were drowning slowly.

And evermore, her thoughts strayed to the peacock, and his gleaming white and crimson-stained feathers, and the way he had looked at her… like she mattered.

And then she would push that disturbing thought away, angry with herself for her weakness. She was allowing herself to be manipulated and it made her stomach churn. There was no easy escape from this life- she would just have to figure out how to go on the way she always had. It had never been so hard before she had gone and tried to make things better. She had been foolish, as her uncle had assured her. A creature confined to darkness could never step into the light. Early that morning, as she tried to fall asleep, Jinzhang heard the long, mournful howl of wolves in the distance.

…

Jinzhang awoke to discover that the neglected blond fur that ringed her neck was matted and clotted with old sweat. With this new motivation, she finally dragged herself out of her self-inflicted state of misery and flew from her protective loft into the brisk forest canopy.

Night had fallen while she slept, and now the slim moon hung in a vast sky, and in some way her spirits lifted. It crossed her mind that a solitary existence may not be so bad; she never felt alone out here, among all this life. It was okay just to be, sometimes.

Swooping low as she neared the river, Jinzhang caught a glimpse of striking white on the forest floor. Mind racing, she doubled back, landing lightly near the point of interest. It wasn't Shen. It was a feather.

She picked it up, delicately. The feather was quite long and purest white, glinting silver when the moon caught it at the right angle. And it was soft- velvety. At the end of the plume was a rich red eyelet pattern, a black spot at its center.

Jinzhang glanced around, suddenly wary. She sent out a noiseless sound to explore past the edges of her vision, but the peacock was nowhere near. But there- not far away, there lay another brilliant plume. She crept over to it, frowned questioningly. Was he molting? The image of a tail-less Shen made her snort in silent mirth. But molting season, for most birds, was generally around the time of late summer, when they could afford to lose the insulation.

Curious, she bent to inspect the feather and noticed a dark stain at the tip of the feather's shaft. She sniffed and smelled blood, rather fresh. The acrid smell made her go cold. She straightened hastily and listened, straining her ears for a sign of life. She heard nothing but the whistling of a gentle breeze.

Only a few feet away, there lay another feather. It drew her like a magnet, but she stood, uncertain. Shen had his wolves. And even if they did not protect him, even if something had happened to him… well. It was none of her business. And yet, it was a nagging itch that settled unpleasantly in her belly.

Cursing herself, Jinzhang followed the trail of bloodied feathers. There were a hundred reasons not to follow them (it may even be a trap), but she had to, nonetheless. She had to, because it was just something that Jinzhang did.

She tucked the long plume that she had picked up into the cinch around her waist and walked with caution. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the world was eerily quiet tonight. It made her feel blind and edgy. Soon she began to hear the river, and she smelled the earthy musk of wolves, but could see and hear no traces of them. She double-checked the shadows and crevices around her, her senses jumping with little tingling thrills of awareness. She was alone. Well, not quite…

A flash of white through the trees- he was hunched over on the forest floor, motionless. Jinzhang could feel her yellow fur rising, a prickling sensation along the back of her neck that made her shudder quietly. How close could she get before he noticed her? Where were the wolves?

She kept her ears pricked at attention as she edged closer, her wings raised protectively in front of her. His back was to her, and the sight of his abused tail made her throat constrict strangely. There were gaping, empty places where the plumes had been torn out. The small, lacey feathers at the base of the tail were stained here and there with a bit of drying blood. The remaining eyelets were battered and unkempt.

Keeping some distance, Jinzhang crept around him, taking in his posture, his near-perfect stillness. He was curled in on himself, not comfortably, and his head was bowed. Long, black brows hung in a dismal arc. He must be aware of her presence now, she knew, but he made no move. She began to feel awkward, like she was intruding on something private, but intrigue anchored her to the spot.

"Shen," she tried, calmly. No response. "… Where are your-"

Shen's wing was a blur and Jinzhang hopped quickly out of the path of three silvery flying daggers. One clipped her shallowly on the shoulder and left a stinging cut. They had been aimed at her chest. The animals glared at each other for a moment. Shen's eyes were hot with stormy emotion, daring her to speak. "-wolves," Jinzhang finished. She half expected Shen to lunge at her, but he only narrowed his eyes hatefully, looked away.

Jinzhang gestured at his disfigured tail. "What-"

"I am the Sun," Shen murmered, his voice empty, his eyes glazed and faraway. "I am the central axis. My blood is pure and rich and divine. I am everything and nothing. In a world that is cruel and devoid of meaning, I _am_ the purpose, the product, the soul. I _am_. And that is enough. _Damnit..." _The last word came out hushed and trempling.

"Hm. I understand. They left you. Rough day." Jinzhang said impassively. "I know! Why don't you tear out some more of your feathers? That seems to be helping."

For a moment, Shen's hackles rose with indignant fury, and then he seemed to deflate, the fire extinguished. Jinzhang was reminded unpleasantly of herself only hours before. As cold as her regard for Shen was, there was sympathy mixed in there somewhere, tangled stubbornly in her moral code. She watched him bow his head with his jaw clenched, and her own jaw tightened. She approached him, emboldened.

"You don't feel like talking? You were doing an awful lot of it when we last met." The peacock was silent, his face in shadow. Jinzhang cocked her head at him, squinting one eye. "Last chance…"

He didn't move.

"Ok."

The bat bent and swiftly scooped her wing under the bird's middle, hoisting him onto her shoulder –he was surprisingly light- and before he could react, she threw him bodily into the river. There was a broad splash and a great deal of flailing. Jinzhang stood calmly on the bank as Shen broke the surface gasping for air.

"What-" he spluttered. "What kind of- _animal_- are you?"

"That's a complicated question," Jinzhang quipped. "If you want the literal answer-"

"Oh, save your blunt wit for the uncultured swine who will appreciate it," Shen snarled, grappling with the slick mud of the riverbank.

Jinzhang half-smiled. "I will, then."

The disgraced prince stalked toward her, dripping cold river water. "Reams of the finest silk, from the hands of the most skilled seamstresses. The silk I am wearing is by itself worth far more than you are, bat. Or it was... " Shen sneered, wringing out a sleeve.

She nodded. "Bracing, isn't it?"

He seethed. His crimson eyes darkened as he looked up at the bat under his lids. His gaze was angry and tired and infinitely cold. She understood his expression a little too well for comfort. "I could kill you for less, you know."

Jinzhang shrugged. "I couldn't just leave you out here. Like that... er."

"Why not?" he growled stolidly.

A pause. "I don't know."

Shen grimaced scathingly. "Why don't you ruminate on that and get back to me?" He made to brush by Jinzhang, but she stepped in front of him. For a moment, his face twisted in a sort of anguished frustration, then he swallowed his emotion and met her eyes determinedly.

"Get out of my way."

She struggled with an answer for a few moments, then blurted: "Are you going to go after them?"

"What?"

"Go after them. You need them."

"Get out of my way."

"I just want to know," she insisted stubbornly. Shen's eyes flashed with raw emotion; a warning.

"It's none of your concern!"

"But you'll die without them," she cried. "Look at you!" Shen reeled back to strike her and she backed away hurriedly, numbly aware that she had crossed a line of rationality long ago.

"How dare you?" Shen tried his best to scoop up the last bit of his dignity. But he was wretched and disheveled and broken somewhere deep in his core. "You have no idea what I am capable of-"

"Everyone in China knows what you're capable of! And now you have no one," Jinzhang said harshly, and felt her own stomach twist with grief. "You're alone! And I guess... I guess you deserve it." She nodded, looking beyond him. "You do..."

Shen didn't know what to say and neither did Jinzhang, so they were left to breathe quietly in this empty, secluded place.

Jinzhang sat down by the riverbed, curled her legs under her. "Why did they leave?"

"Just go," Shen replied bitterly.

"... I can track them."

She felt his eyes on her back. "Why would you help me...?" he said, guardedly.

Jinzhang shrugged half-heartedly. "Everyone needs somebody... occasionally. And I... I need to just... just do something that matters. I guess."

"I don't need you," he said quickly.

"I know," she said.

"But you may come."


	9. Line

IX

The indents were deep, broad- four to each print, with curved little nicks where sharp nails churned up loose earth. They were fresh and that was good. It was difficult to tell how many wolves there were- at least thirty, maybe forty or more, traveling in a tight group.

Jinzhang followed the pack's trail to the edge of camp, sent out vibrations into the forest and surmised that they were headed east. She could hear faint rustling and muted swearing from behind, where Shen had disappeared into the largest of the cluster of wood and canvas huts. She turned and approached the hut, waited for a few moments, then impatiently brushed the curtain aside.

Shen was surrounded with finery- silk robes, old talismans with sacred brands, and silver adornments inlaid with what Jinzhang assumed were precious stones. She was wearing her blindfold to shield her eyes from the sun, but Jinzhang still had a fairly good idea that the worth of the objects together outweighed even the worth of Heyling Temple. Shen scowled at her.

"Do you mind?"

"A bit," she said honestly. "It's nearly mid morning. What have you been doing in here?"

Shen pursed his beak, surveying the treasures. "Deliberating."

"Ah. Well..." Jinzhang didn't know quite how to tell him to hurry up. "It looks like they've gone east, though they may just be cutting around the village. At their current pace, they'll have cleared the forest by sundown, and after that- Are you listening?"

"Hm?" Shen was holding a delicate pendant in one wing. Long feathers ghosted over its surface almost tenderly. It was inlaid with a tiny image of a peacock with its tail unfurled.

"We should get going," Jinzhang finally said. "Take what you can carry comfortably. Your friends are gaining ground while you've been doing... whatever it is you've been doing." Shen's brow twitched.

"Watch yourself, bat."

She shrugged slightly. Shen stood, tucking the pendent away in his robes. He carried, too, a long, curved, poisonous looking spear and left the rest. He strutted by her and she cocked her head.

"You're not going to...?"

"A true son of the heavens does not burden himself with earthly possessions. Of course, you are free to carry what you can. Consider it your payment." Jinzhang twitched her ears, shrugged, and shook her head. Shen paused to study her. "Are you not tempted?" She shrugged again.

"It looks pretty heavy." He blinked at her, glanced at the feather- his own- still tucked securely at her waist.

"East, did you say?"

...

Lord Shen was far too proud to express the devastation that threatened to consume him following the departure of Laoban and the others. Before that moment, he had never thought things truly hopeless. He had never buried himself in regret, not even in those dark years spent outside the wall, fighting for survival in the Mongolian wastes. Not even then.

But the wolves had been with him then. Always. That was the constant, the truth, the definitive knowledge. He had to believe that they were still loyal to him. It was only that bloody traitorous alpha that stood in his way. Shen himself would kill him if that's what it took to regain control. They had been his loyal servants for the first twenty two years of his life, and Shen would be damned if he was going to let them slip away.

Shen loped along next to his guide, the blindfolded bat, Jinzhang. According to her, they would continue to gain slowly at their current jogging pace.

The bat was an enigma. Shen would have to keep a close eye on her. He had a difficult time believing that anyone would agree to help a known criminal without an ulterior motive. Then again, while skilled, she didn't seem to be terribly bright. Shen had the nagging feeling that Jinzhang pitied him, and that, while useful, was really very aggravating.

At noon, they took a brief rest. Jinzhang produced dried oranges from her small satchel and Shen, who had not eaten in a little under twenty-four hours and was beginning to feel light headed, ate the tough, gummy fruit like it was manna from heaven. Jinzhang, on the other hand, ate little and chewed thoughtfully. The silence between them was heavy and uncomfortable. She appeared to Shen somewhat confused, like she was puzzling over a riddle she couldn't shake from her thoughts. She became increasingly distressed as the day wore on.

The sun was sinking and Jinzhang had gradually increased their pace until they were running, flat-out through the thick forest growth. "I thought... thought you said they weren't in much of a... hurry!" Shen panted, struggling to keep pace as branches and roots kept leaping out to trip him. Jinzhang grimaced, the loose ends of her blindfold whipping wildly behind her.

"I have a bad feeling."

"Do you?" Shen said, rather snarkily.

Abruptly, Jinzhang opened her wings and was airborne. Shen skidded to a halt, sending a shower of dead leaves into the air, and stared up at her shrinking figure. He felt a stab of unwanted fear flood him at the thought of being stranded at night in unfamiliar woods. He loathed reminders of exactly how vulnerable he had become. In the span of a few minutes, his heart began to race, and then Jinzhang dropped neatly through the trees above and landed behind him. He reeled around, huffed in annoyance. "Don't do that."

She only tilted her head, frowning.

"...What?" Shen asked reading her expression carefully. "What is it?"

She sighed, "Follow me."

He followed her warily through the trees a little ways to where the tall growth ended and a vast grassland began. They stood side by side on the edge of the forest.

"I was afraid of this," Jinzhang muttered. "They waited till they were out of the woods before dipping into their energy. See how far apart those prints are? This is where they started to sprint. Out across the valley. I was hoping we could catch them before... well."

"Before? Before what?"

The bat shifted, clearly uncomfortable. "In a few days, the first snow is expected to come. It'll cover their tracks."

Shen felt cold. "We'll just have to keep moving," he said. "This changes nothing." And without another word, he trudged forward. He slowed, stopped, looked back. Jinzhang stood uncertainly on the precipice.

"I... You know, I... don't actually know what I'm doing here... helping you." She laughed a little and it had rigid, slightly hysterical edge to it. Shen tried to stare through her blindfold.

"Come," he said, evenly. She shook her head, very slightly.

"I... should go home... You can take it from here..."

He didn't move to stop her, didn't remind her of the meaningless existence she would lead if she returned. He just said again, in that quiet, mesmerizing voice, "Come."

And there was a hidden line inlaid into the fabric of the universe, so difficult to see until it was crossed. It was a tightrope suspended between yin and yang, but what were these if not vague representations of an idealized world that saw only in black and white? The point is that Lord Shen told Jinzhang to come with him.

And she did.

...

"Alright. If this is the Valley of Shangwei, then we're here. This is east, which puts Heyling at our backs, and if the pack continues at a relatively straight eastward progression, they would... they would have to run into Harbin." Jinzhang looked up from her doodle in the dirt, firelight dancing in her black eyes. "It's the only big city in the province. All trade roads here lead to Harbin; I'm willing to bet you'll find them there." Shen nodded slowly, his eyes distant. Wind howled across the open plains around them, and the small fire spluttered.

Maybe it was unwise to build a fire out here where it could be seen by anyone from miles around, but the temperature had dropped dramatically after the sun set, and Shen and the bat's breaths were white puffs of moisture in the dry air. Shen fought to keep his beak from chattering. Jinzhang wrapped her wings around her torso and scooted closer to the fire.

Into the silence, Jinzhang asked: "Any idea where they're planning to go?"

"Lang will be leading them," Shen growled. "And I don't think even he knows his own mind."

"Lang?"

"Their pack leader."

"Hm. I thought that wolf- what was it? Laoban-"

"No," Shen replied curtly. "Laoban has thusfar refused to except his own destiny. But he will see. I have only to remind him."

"Remind him of what?"

Shen looked at her across the fire. "Of who I am."

Jinzhang prodded the fire with a stick sullenly. "What will you do about Lang?"

"If you must know," Shen began, frowning into the flames. "Laoban will usurp him."

"How will he do that?"

"He must challenge and defeat Lang in hand-to-hand combat."

"What if he doesn't?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

The bat tilted her head. "Well, its just... There's always the chance that things won't go the way you planned. What will you do, then? When they don't?" She looked up into Shen's cold gaze.

"I will destroy all those who stand in my way."

Moments passed in potent silence, then Jinzhang stood without a word, turned, and walked away from Shen. "Hey..." Cursing under his breath, Shen hopped up and quickly followed. "Bat? Jinzhang! Where do you think you're going? I'm talking to you-" She turned on him so quickly that it was startling.

"This was a mistake," she confessed disgustedly. "A huge, enormous, fantastic mistake. My father would be absolutely ashamed if he knew I was helping someone like you." Shen was entirely indignant.

"Someone like-? You volunteered your service!" The bat narrowed her big eyes, livid.

"That was before I remembered what a monster you are. Would you kill them? Your own followers? The only poor fools who would follow you after you- you..." She stopped, at a loss for words. While she was distracted, Shen caught her ankle up in his talons and pinned her to the ground. He lowered his head close, so close to her face, and observed her fear.

"After I what?" He asked dangerously. With a snarl, Jinzhang threw him off and took up her stance. Shen did the same, staring disdainfully at her.

Trembling, Jinzhang sucked in a breath. "After you disgraced China! After you disgraced your family."

Jinzhang watched Shen's face contort into a look of anger like she had never seen. He fell upon her, moving erratically, frenzied with fury. They fought there on the Shangwei grasslands with vicious anger, but jinzhang found herself backing off, looking for openings to flee and finding none. She was swift, but he was relentless, and her world tumbled dizzyingly around her when he finally hit her in the stomach, hard enough that she gagged.

She jabbed at him drunkenly and he caught her wing under his talons, trapped it against the earth, dragged her down and she found herself on her back with his armored talons pressing against her throat. He looked down at her in heated, giddy triumph but was taken aback by her expression. All the hatred had gone from her now. All her expression held was horror.

"The pandas," she said quietly. "How could you?" She didn't really expect an answer. The wind howled. The grass was damp beneath her.

"There was a prophecy." Shen's white face was framed by stars, divinity. "Foretelling the end of my reign; presumably, of my life. That I would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. A panda." He released his hold on her neck and she sat up slowly.

"So you killed them."

"Yes."

They stared at each other, both looking fairly shell-shocked and unsure. Jinzhang opened her mouth, then her eyes focused on a drifting white speck in the air before her nose and she looked up into the sparsely-clouded sky. "It's snowing." Tiny ice crystals meandered slowly downward, all around them. They clung to blades of grass and melted there. The wind pushed them about in spiraling flurries. It slowed the whole world to a crawling pace.

There was Shen's guarded but vulnerable gaze, white flecks clinging to his dark beak. And there was that proverbial line again, between yin and yang, difficult to find under the pale snow.


	10. Harbin, part 1

X.

Shen awoke from a restless sleep to find that the cold had seeped into his bones and invaded his flesh. He shivered violently, irritably shook the crust of fresh morning snow off his back. At this point, it was difficult to imagine circumstances getting any worse. The temperature had dropped further still in the past few days as they traveled toward Harbin, and the bat was getting increasingly on his nerves.

It wasn't so much the things that she did, in fact it was the lack thereof. She was so demure and inoffensive that it bothered him inexplicably. Ever since their conversation days previously, she had hardly spoken or even made eye contact with Shen. His inner paranoia told him that she was trying to make him feel guilty, and if so, it certainly wouldn't work. Lord Shen felt no remorse for his actions whatsoever, and after all, why should he? He had done what was necessary, never mind what was right. And what did she know of ethics, anyway? What did she know of the pressures of royalty, the responsibility?

Shen looked up to find the now-familiar sight of Jinzhang performing the slow dance of tai chi that was her morning ritual. She looked at home and at peace in a sea of undisturbed whiteness. She knew nothing.

When she finally noticed he was awake, Jinzhang nodded at him wordlessly and tossed him the last of the dried fruit. Shen bit disdainfully at the gummy apricot. He stood, stretching his frozen limbs painfully. Even with his downy layer of insulating feathers, Shen wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the cold. He new that Jinzhang, whose thin, hairless wings looked terribly raw, must feel the same way, and yet she still did not seek warmth from him (which was, again, a bit annoying). And though a warm body was tempting, Shen would rather freeze solid than degrade himself by initiating some some of... huddle.

Luckily, it didn't come to that. The sprawling metropolis of Harbin crested the horizon around noon that day, just as the two travelers were beginning to feel the first pangs of hunger. Immensely relieved, they picked up the pace and reached the outermost residential buildings by nightfall.

Cold, tired, and hungry, they sought out an inn and Shen paid for a room and hot meals. The innkeeper boldly commented that the two made an odd couple, and they were both too intent on the prospect of food and a warm bed to respond at all. They sat in the cramped quarters and attacked their plates, Shen half heartedly complaining that the food was greasy, even as he shoved noodles eagerly into his mouth. The small, second story room in which they were staying contained one large sleeping mat and little else. Jinzhang industriously tied the ends of a spare sheet to the ceiling to make a hammock in which she would sleep. They fell asleep almost simultaneously, Shen dreaming tangled dreams of wolves who ran headfirst into a blazing fire.

...

"Wolves?"

"Yes."

"Eh..." The innkeeper scratched his cheek. "Why would nice people like you be lookin' fer wolves, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I do mind, actually."

"They're old friends." Jinzhang added, glancing disapprovingly at Shen.

"Well, ah... A lotta wonderin' packs come through Harbin, and people tend to stay away from 'em. I couldn't tell ya anything more specific than that."

Jinzhang sensed Shen's muscles tensing beside her, and quickly said, "Well, thank you anyw-"

"But."

"Hm?"

"But if I were you, and I'm not sayin' I am," the innkeeper began. He leaned in close to Jinzhang and she could smell ginger on his breath. "But iffin I were, I'd go to the crows."

"The crows?" Jinzhang whispered excitedly. "Where are they?"

"Everywhere," the innkeeper said mysteriously, waving a paw in the air.

"Ah... kay. But where are they... now?"

"Oh, at the market round this time. Ask for Hei-" He lowered his voice. "- but ya didn't hear it from me. And, uh, be careful, you hear, darlin'?" Jinzhang smiled reassuringly and nodded.

"Hei. Got it. I will." She dropped a few yuan on the table and thanked him.

As they made for the exit, the innkeeper called after them, voice resonating: "The city has eyes," he said. Then he returned to his mop and bucket.

The icy wind outside hit them like a hammer to the face. The shopping district in Harbin was vast in comparison with Jinzhang's small village. Exotic sounds and smells bombarded her from every angle as she and Shen weaved through the throng. They passed a teahouse and Jinzhang realized that she would kill for a hot cup of oolong, but she resisted the temptation. She did, however, pause to purchase a thick woolen shawl that she fastened around her neck like cape, to warm her aching wings.

Shen made a purchase as well. To Jinzhang's surprise, the peacock disappeared behind the orange curtain of a fireworks vender. He returned with a few small pouches- much too small to hold proper fireworks- and tucked them away in his voluminous robes. Jinzhang didn't ask. Perhaps she should have.

It was snowing again, very lightly, and Jinzhang felt very strange indeed as she walked carefully alongside the peacock, trying to stay close without being jostled into him by the crowd. He was a good deal taller than her, and he wore a long dark cloak that covered his head and his damaged tail entirely. She found that he projected an air of overpowering confidence- the kind that came of being utterly and overwhelmingly enamored with one's self. He was currently attempting not to show how much it aggravated him that the Harbin 'peasants' behind kept trotting on the expensive material of his robe. His flickering expressions of petulant angst were absurdly comical.

"Rarities!" Jinzhang was distracted by a rather grating voice that stood apart from the collective murmur of the crowd. "Trinkets, amulets, and seals of all kinds, courtesy of the Ming Dynasty!" it chanted harshly. "Ancient and powerful finds! All under ten yuan!" Jinzhang followed the voice, found a crowd of rowdy market-goers blocking her path.

"Shen," she said, gently nudging her companion. "Do you see a crow?"

She heard him exhale in a huff. "Yes."

"Maybe we should wait for the crowd to- Shen?" Shen was striding importantly into the crowd, cutting through it by sheer virtue of will. Timidly, the bat scrambled in his wake, apologizing to disgruntled patrons as they were shoved aside.

All the while, the merchant cawed in his scratchy voice: "Keep away the laughing spirits this winter festival! Warding charms, only five yuan! Special gems endowed with amazing healing abilities from the Land of the Rising Sun! Protective tokens, three for two yuan, today only! Yes, miss, that's right! Today only! They're going fast!"

"You. Crow."

"Eh-? Yes sir!" The crow was a stout, well-groomed little thing, standing atop a cart piled high with goods, most of which were shiny and largely decorative. He found Shen in the crowd and cocked his smooth head one way, and then the other. "Have you a question? A request? Eh?"

"I'm looking for-"

"Anything at all, sir. Anything! Say the word-"

Shen sighed harshly. "Where is Hei?"

The crow's attentive expression froze in place for a tense moment. "Junee. Man the shop," he said, and in the next moment he was high above their heads, disappearing behind rooftops. Junee, the young crow he had spoken to, had already been handling the exchange of money and goods and didn't bat an eye at the salesman's order. Jinzhang and Shen looked at each other uncertainly. But it was only seconds before two new crows alighted on the cart; a large male and a slender female with calculating eyes.

The male hopped forward amicably. "You must be the newcomers. I feel so privileged to be requested by name! Welcome, welcome, my good gentleman and lady, my esteemed patrons, my-" he paused. "-my friends. What can I do for you today? Looking for festival gifts, warding charms?" His shiny black eyes fell on Jinzhang. "Jewelry for the lady?"

Jinzhang blinked stupidly. "Oh- oh, no. We're-"

"I've just the thing!" The bird darted his black beak into the pile and retrieved a lovely string of delicately carved pearls. "You'll never find another piece like it. Belonged to a favorite concubine of Emperor Jiao-shi. Before he went mad and murdered them all, of course." He waved the necklace enticingly. "She was wearing it when she died."

Jinzhang shook her head hurriedly. "We're looking... um, we're looking for... How on earth did you get a hold of them, then?"

The crow held a glossy wing to the tip of his beak. "Trader's secret, love."

Shen rolled his eyes. "This is becoming tiresome. Are you or are you not Hei?"

The crow's attention locked suddenly onto the peacock and he straightened, peering at Shen with one wide-open eye. "Well of course! Naturally. Yes. Hello!"

Shen frowned moodily. "Hello. How are you?"

"Well, I'm quite well! Well, well, well. Yes, that's right. Well," Hei twittered.

"I don't care. I am here to follow what I now recognize to be a terrible and imbecilic lead. If you'll excuse me." Shen began to turn away, but Jinzhang spoke then.

"We're looking to catch up with a pack of wolves that passed through here. Do know anything about it?" Jinzhang noticed Shen's stare and half-shrugged.

"Wolves?" Hei brightened. "I can get you wolves! Grey, red, white, whadda you want?"

The bat scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "How could you possibly-? Ouch!-" She jumped as Shen stomped impatiently on her foot. "Nevermind, ah, we're looking for a very specific pack- about sixty timber wolves, led by an older wolf called Lang. They would have passed through just a few days ago."

"Lang, Lang..." Hei's shiny black head twisted sharply from side to side as he considered the question. "Big bloke? Bad attitude? 'Bout-" He hopped a few feet into the air. "Yeh high?"

"Yes! Yes, have you seen him?"

"No. Well. Yes and no." The crow nodded, shook his head, and then nodded again.

"Um..." Jinzhang glanced at Shen, who was silently fuming.

"Both. Yes. Both things. What I mean to say, you see, is that the Murder has seen your wolves. These eyes have not seen your wolves, no. But my family has. And I know all that they know. Yes. Everything."

"You do. Oh, oh that's brilliant!" Jinzhang beamed. "Do you know where they're headed?"

"Certainly, certainly." There was a pause.

"...Which way?" Shen said severely.

The crow called Hei hopped about in obvious excitement, chirping: "Where, where, where? Where indeed?" And Shen snapped. The peacock lunged and went still with his silvery dagger poised under the crow's beak.

"Where are they, you prancing little moron? Tell me!" he snarled. And suddenly there was silence as every one of the patrons surrounding them paused in their various activities and stared unblinkingly at Shen and the crow, plunging the world into jarring stillness. Hei stared into the peacock's livid expression and smiled eerily.

"South," he said. "Went to Shanghai, didn't they? Yes."

"If you're lying-"

"Oh, my lord," Hei crooned. "Why would I lie?"

For a full minute, Shen stared at him with narrowed eyes, then he sheathed his blade and backed off wordlessly. Hei smirked at them as they left the stand and customers resumed their boisterous haggling.

"Cocky, self-serving little toad," Jinzhang heard Shen mutter as they made their way through the throng.

Jinzhang glanced around nervously. "I don't like this..."

"Oh, no?" Shen replied sarcastically.

"Did you hear him call you lord?"

Shen shrugged. "I heard him. He also called you a lady." They both snorted at the idea.

The rest of the day was spent trying to confirm Hei's story. All together, they must have talked to fifty or so venders and market-goers with no success. The sun was setting when they began to near the end of the shopping district, casting a rosy glow upon the city. The lanterns where being lit and late-night pubs were opening their doors. The bustle and activity of pre-festival shopping dissipated and Jinzhang became uneasy as she once again found herself alone with Shen. This was ridiculous, really. They were working together- she should just say something.

"So... Did you celebrate winter festival when you were a kid?" She immediately regretted speaking up; Shen seemed to freeze up for a moment, eyes darting toward her, then straight ahead again. She busied herself taking off her blindfold.

After some length, he said: "Of course." Jinzhang nodded dumbly.

"Eh... good. I guess. Yeah... um." She scrambled for words. "My father and I used to have a lot of fun making the decorations."

Shen didn't answer. He had stopped walking and stood there, staring straight ahead.

"Ah... What-?" Jinzhang followed his gaze and felt her mouth hang open they stood together in stunned silence. "Oh..." she breathed, walking as if in a trance. "Is that... is that ice?"

Before them was an enormous, gleaming, translucent archway, shaved smooth and hung with red paper lanterns. Jinzhang had to touch it to assure herself it wasn't made of glass. It was cold enough that it burned to the touch. And past it- Jinzhang's breath caught. It was a city with statues of gods and dragons and leaping trout, with pagodas and bridges and a massive temple at its center. All constructed of ice- great huge slabs of carved ice, backlit by a myriad of colored lanterns. The ice caught hold of the colored light and refracted it, sent it spiraling and dancing and glowing and Jinzhang was so overwhelmed by it that she bubbled over with giddy laughter. She looked at Shen and threw her wings out to her sides, grinning madly.

Shen strutted over to her, all composure and dignity. "Don't act like such a child. It's just frozen water and a trick of the light." She only grinned wider.

"I know- it's amazing, isn't it?" She gazed around, drinking in the dazzling scene. She paused, skipped in place excitedly. "Look, you can climb it! You can climb the temple; C'mon!" She scampered toward the temple, Shen following begrudgingly behind. The icy steps where slippery as could be expected and Jinzhang had to brace herself with her wings several times. Then she reached the top, with a maze of ice sculptures laid out below, glistening cheerily in the brisk night air. A forest of stars softened the black void of the sky and everything was dizzyingly beautiful.

"Have you forgotten why we're here, bat? We aren't on holiday... What are you staring at?" Jinzhang had noticed the way the starlight danced over Shen's white feathers and created a sort of halo. She briefly wondered what it was like to be so beautiful.

"I-" She shook her head. "Nothing. Just... look at this place."

After a skeptical pause, Shen looked. People had emerged to revel in the ice city: families with small, squealing children, old couples, paw-in-paw, young couples giggling like happy idiots.

"... The craftsmanship is impressive," Shen finally conceded. Jinzhang smiled warmly at him.

"We'll leave in the morning, yeah?" she said.

"Hn. Shanghai. On the word of that... ridiculous cretin."

"It's our best lead."

"Unfortunately."

"I told you my lord," said a raspy voice from behind. "I've no reason to lie to you."

Shen and Jinzhang whipped around, saw five burly, armed oxen charging up the staircase of ice, snorting steamy breaths and brandishing spears. Then a black bird clothed in red and purple linen alighted on a railing. "It doesn't matter where you plan to go," said Hei. "You're already here. And this is my city. Yes."


	11. Harbin, part 2

XI.

"Hei," Jinzhang addressed the crow, edging nearer to Shen's side as the peacock drew his curved spear from its sling on his back. "Hei, what's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shen snapped. "The little pigeon wants the reward on my head." The crow nodded as if this were the most sensible thing in the world. "But he's a coward-" Shen spat the word. "So he brought in the city guard."

The oxen were quickly surrounding them, backing them up against the slippery railing.

"Cowardice, business, justice, call it what you like. Anyway, I was lucky to come upon you, my lord. Even after your disgrace, you are still worth something- quite a few somethings, actually!" Hei hopped onto the shoulder of a guard and cocked his head at a ninety degree angle. "Does this bring you solace?"

The edges of Shen's beak pulled back in a tight grimace. He gripped his spear so hard that the blade shook.

Jinzhang grasped at straws. "Do- do you have a warrant?"

"Ho, o'course." The largest guard, who had until now been stupidly watching the exchange between Shen and Hei, unfolded a small scroll and began to read: "Having learned of your presence in China, and being that this violates the punishment set down by the late ruler of Gongmen, the stewards of Gongmen City and advisors to the throne have issued a warrant for your arrest. Shen, last of the dynasty of the peacock, you are under arrest-"

The two nearest oxen made to grab Shen and he swung his weapon wildly, leapt at one of them as they scrambled to avoid the flashing blade-

"-for, as aforementioned, disobeying the authority of the Gongmen ruler-"

There was the thud of wood on wood as Shen's spear whirled through the air, cracking against the thinner spear of the guard, who used it to block again and again. The other three guards came to his aid and were intercepted by Jinzhang, who distracted them with lofty avoidance maneuvers while the largest oxen droned on above the struggle.

"-for the mass execution of approximately 450 giant pandas-"

Jinzhang danced away from the swinging spears, looking for an opportunity. One of them jabbed and Jinzhang grabbed the wood just below the blade and pulled roughly. The guard on the other end lost balance and stumbled into her fist. The largest guard glanced over his scroll.

"-and for resisting capture. Furthermore-"

There was a sharp, dry sound as Shen brought his spear cleanly down and his opponent's weapon and it splintered in two.

"Oh, you dimwits!" cawed Hei, hopping in place. "You're mangling it up!" He released a loud call that echoed in the open sky and caused everyone present to pause.

Shen, who had his blade pressed to the throat of the guard, suddenly bolted, leapt over the railing and glided to the ground. Jinzhang propelled herself toward the railing, felt her stomach lurch unpleasantly as a guard caught her ankle. Before gravity caught on, she used her momentum to spin around and kick out. There was a sickening crunch as the guard's nose broke in connection with her foot. He cried out and released her and she tumbled ungracefully into the air. She had seen Shen escape into the forest of ice statues and was fairly certain the guards wouldn't catch him- he was fast when he needed to be.

Jinzhang's breathing was just beginning to slow when she heard the steadily growing sound of flapping wings. She squinted into the night, saw only black for a minute and nearly fell out of the sky when the dark, roiling cloud of crows came into focus. Jinzhang glanced down, saw two of the five guards staring up at her. She climbed higher, hoping that the murder had not spotted her. But they turned sharply upward, so she dived in response.

The murder then split into two groups. One dived after her and the other swerved to the side. Jinzhang swerved the other way, flapping her wings to gain speed. The diving group was on her tail. She barrel rolled sideways and looped around in the opposite direction, gained some ground when it took them some time the turn about. Now the other group was ahead of her, charging at full speed. Jinzhang flew straight towards them, saw the wary but determined faces, nearly came nose-to-beak with the crow in the lead before diving away at the last second.

The first group of crows wouldn't be shaken. They were on her tail again and gaining. The icy air whipped at Jinzhang's face as she rolled, dived, and turned, trying to lose them. But they were learning the way she moved, even beginning to mimic her. Frustrated and tired, Jinzhang began to think she may have better luck on the ground. Then a crow came from the right and bludgeoned her wing. She lost balance and dropped a few feet before she could right herself. A few more crows were already there as she swerved about. They tore at her clothes and divebombed her from above. She rolled and struck out with her legs. There were too many; she was now engulfed in the murder, black feathers and sharp beaks everywhere. They were driving her down and she couldn't remember how far away the ground was. She flapped her wings wildly and flattened her ears against the deafening cawing. The murder had swallowed her whole.

...

Shen's heart pounded in his ears as he rushed through a maze of statues. Every time he reached the edge of the sculptures, a high, smooth wall blocked his path and he had to dash back into the maze. All was eerily silent. Gleaming ice faces stared him down. The ice distorted everything; he saw shadows moving blearily in the glassy forms, only to find that there was no one lurking behind the the statues. And here again- a wall. Blocking all sides but the direction from which he had come. And he was sure he'd been past that giant two-headed goose before!

Suddenly- the thudding of heavy footsteps- or was that his heart again? He gripped his weapon.

"He's gotten away!" cried Hei's voice, far too close. "You've let him get away!"

"Relax-" began the deeper voice of the largest guard.

"Look! Look! Do you see him? I don't!"

"We're covering all the exits. He won't get away."

"Forget it!" Hei chirped shrilly. "Yes, forget it! I should have done this myself from the beginning."

Carefully, Shen edged around the statue until he could see Hei and the ox. The guard grunted.

"Hey, listen. We're doing this. We're earning our share of the reward whether or not you have anything to do with it. In fact, what have you done to assist with his capture, little bird?"

Hei ruffled his feathers indignantly. "I didn't want to endanger my family. But it looks like we'll be taking the whole reward after all. You're relieved of duty, captain."

The ox took a threatening step toward the crow. "I don't think so. If anything, the reward already belongs to me."

Hei cawed loudly, small eyes flashing. A shadow passed over Shen and he looked up to find the murder passing over him, speeding toward the ox and Hei. As Shen watched, a large shape broke free from the black mass and tumbled out of the air. With a muffled shriek, Jinzhang crashed heavily into Shen, who toppled to the ground, the bat on top of him, sending a cloud of powdery snow swirling into the frigid air.

Groaning, Jinzhang lifted her head from Shen's downy chest and got unsteadily to her feet. She made a face and spit out an inky black feather. She looked at Shen, who was retrieving the breath she had knocked out of him.

"Sorry," she said. He scowled and returned his attention to Hei.

The guard's eyes widened as he saw the murder approaching and Hei smirking up at him. But before the crows could reach him, he shot out a big hoof, caught Hei by the back of the head, and pushed the bird face first into the snow.

"Come any closer and I'll crush his skull!" shouted the captain of the guard. The crows immediately held back and began to coast restlessly just outside the ox's reach. Hei's body flailed helplessly, his narrow legs scrabbling in the snow.

"They're distracted," Shen said. "Come on." He swept away, toward the nearest path that appeared to be an exit, but Jinzhang didn't follow. He turned, made an exasperated noise. She standing there, staring at Hei's small, desperate body, his head trapped between unyielding ground and the captain's hoof. Her eyes were wide and alert.

"Jinzhang!" Shen hissed. She didn't move. "I know what you're thinking. Don't you dare- just- Come with me. Now."

Jinzhang broke into a run and Shen cursed fluently. She hurtled toward the ox and hurled her body into his muscled arm, causing it to release Hei. With an enraged cry, the ox grabbed Jinzhang's wing and threw her into a statue. Shen heard bone snap and watched the bat crumple against the ice, cradling her right wing and trembling.

With their leader free, the murder descended upon the ox, viciously pecking and swooping at his face. He screamed, swiping with clumsy hooves, and ran in the direction of the city with the crows close behind. Their hoarse caws faded away slowly. Hei stared at Jinzhang as he fought for breath. Eight or nine crows had stayed behind to check on Hei, including the slender female Shen had seen earlier in the marketplace. She laid a tender wing on his shoulder and he nodded to her, still gazing at Jinzhang.

"Your orders, sir?" asked a small crow. Hei looked at him, and then his eyes were drawn to Shen. Shen raised his weapon and they stared each other down until Jinzhang stepped between them wordlessly, holding tightly to her broken wing. She was pale with pain and exhaustion.

"That's a lot of money you're protecting..." Hei muttered, grimacing.

"Hei..." The female chided gently.

"Alright, alright! Okay. Yes. Done." Hei nodded. "I have too much money anyway." Jinzhang smiled weakly.

Shen crept closer to inspect her wing. The outermost spine was broken in the middle and the jagged edge of the bone was poking through flesh. His stomach churned sickeningly. "You fool," he muttered.

She laughed unsteadily and there was an edge of panic in her voice. "I, uh... I don't know what to do..." She swallowed thickly. "H-how do I fix it? What if I never... if I can never..." She released a shaky breath.

"Take her to Lady Qihi." The female stepped forward, addressing Shen. "She's a master healer, just outside of town. I'll lead you to her." The crow leapt into the air, gesturing for them to follow. Jinzhang took a step, swayed, and fell against Shen. He stiffened. She was light and possibly a little too skinny. Steadying her with a tentative wing, he followed the crow, hastening his footsteps as he felt her body grow cold.


	12. The Healer

XII.

The healer's modest shack lay on the outskirts of the city, where rugged wilderness pushed for dominance against the clean industrialism of Harbin. Jinzhang was shivering violently, her breathing shallow. After gaining some breath, she had been able to walk most of the way to the healer's house on her own and now stood hunched, with her wing pressed to her side at an awkward angle, as Shen rang the little bell that hung above the warped old door. The bell rang crisply and there was shuffling from inside.

"She's a fine healer," the crow had said reassuringly, before her departure. "The finest. She'll take care of you."

Shen thought he could hear low grumbling and a scratching noise on the other side of the door. Then it swung open on uneven hinges to reveal what Shen registered as one of the most repugnant-looking creatures he had ever seen. It was only about a foot and a half high and shaped rather like and lumpy potato. Its potato body was covered in course, ashy brown fur and its face was comprised of a large, squat, hairless nose with a pair of half-moon eyeglasses perched on it, two small, squinting black eyes, small, hairless ears, and the long, yellowed front teeth of a rodent. The bamboo rat squinted up at Shen and her eyes widened.

"Good lord," she said. "I suppose I knew you'd come back to me one day."

Shen frowned. "Pardon?" But the healer had already turned her attention to Jinzhang.

"Broken wing, eh?" she tsked. "Well come in, come in, we're letting the damp out."

The inside of the shack was positively balmy compared with the outdoor air, and heavy with incense and other exotic smells. Bamboo sprouts were roasting over a merry fire, and the rest of the space was crammed to the rafters with healing supplies: shelves upon shelves of jars and bottles of potions and elixirs, jellies and pickled body parts, dried herbs and ground up insects. One wall was entirely covered with rows of little drawers, none of which seemed to be labeled. In the middle of the room was a low table. The healer instructed Jinzhang to place her wing flat on the uncluttered surface and she did so, tenderly.

"Can you fix it?" Jinzhang asked, her eyebrows upturned and anxious. The bamboo rat didn't answer but instead turned away and inspected her shelves for a moment. She returned with a bottle of clear liquid.

"To dull the pain," she said, handing it to Jinzhang.

"What-" Shen began, watching Jinzhang snatch up the elixir and gulp it down greedily. "... is it?"

"Essence of king cobra," said the master healer. Jinzhang spluttered, dropped the bottle and began to cough violently. The old bamboo rat watched the bottle roll mournfully away. "Expensive, that. It does sting a bit, I'll grant you."

"Are you -cough- telling me that there's -cough cough- snake venom in that stuff?" Jinzhang whimpered, wincing as every spasm rocked her broken wing.

"Yes." The healer picked up what was left of the liquid and corked the bottle. "The alcohol takes the potency out of the venom, of course."

Jinzhang coughed some more. "Of course..." She shot Shen a helpless look and he returned it with a nod; his best attempt at a reassuring gesture. She jumped as she felt the healer's small hands probe the thin, splintered bone.

"Relax, miss...?"

"Jinzhang."

"Lovely name. Jinzhang. I've healed broken wings before. Never those of a bat, however," she mused smilingly, rolling her thumb gently down the second spine to check for further breakage. "This should actually be rather fascinating." She held a hand to Jinzhang's pulse. "Your heart is fluttering like a rabbit's." She removed her hand, stepped back and retrieved a large cleaver from beneath the table. Jinzhang's skin crawled.

"What-?" She cleared her throat. "How will you treat it?" The healer turned the knife so that it glinted.

"I'm going to set your wound." She said as she made her way over to a box of bamboo rods of varying sizes. She picked one up, tested its strength, and put it down.

"W-what does that mean?" She selected another and seemed to be satisfied with it. She used the knife to cut it to the proper length.

"My name is Qihi, by the way. Shen, hold her down, would you?" Shen was startled at the request. He looked at Jinzhang, whose big eyes were frantic.

"Hold me-? Why?" Lady Qihi sighed, hopping onto the table with the bamboo in one hand and knife in the other.

"If you want this to heal properly, then we don't have time for discussion. Shen," she said sharply. "Wake up, old boy. I need you to hold her down!" Shen could feel his mind whirling with conflicting signals while the urgency pushed his thoughts into a more rapid pace. And it suddenly clicked into place: to set the bone, Qihi would need to tie the rod tightly against the broken spine. And because the skin got in the way, Qihi planned to cut openings through which she could thread the bandages. And it would hurt. Quite a bit.

Jinzhang was beginning to slide away from the table. "I... I don't like this." Then she bumped up against Shen, who moved around her and put one firm wing on her shoulder and the other on her upper arm, pressing her down into the table with all of his strength. She struggled and he put his weight on her smaller form. His long neck curved over shoulder and his beak brushed her left ear.

"You have to be still," he said and his breath ghosted over her ear so that it twitched. "Trust me." But this only seemed to make things worse. She struggled harder.

"Don't tell me to trust you!" she snarled. "You don't trust anybody! What are you doing with that knife? Tell me! Let go!"

"Do you want to fly again or don't you?" Lady Qihi's voice cut effectively through Jinzhang's increasing panic. She went still, and after a tense silence, Shen felt her body go limp in submission. He nodded to the healer. She nodded back.

"I'm going to make three small holes through your wing," Lady Qihi explained carefully, steadying the point of the knife over Jinzhang's skin. "This will hurt."

Without further warning, she plunged the knife downward and up quickly. Jinzhang's body jerked in Shen's grip as she cried out. Qihi made the second hole, the third, her wizened face stony. In time, Jinzhang bit back her cries. Her upper body was dewed with sweat.

Qihi used a rag to soak up the blood and then set the bone straight against the rod, pulled several white bandages through each hole, tied them around the rod of bamboo and pulled the knots tight, fastening it to the wing to hold the bone straight. The master healer surveyed her own work and nodded.

"Seems gruesome, but it's appropriate. You'll be flying in no time." Jinzhang didn't answer. "Miss?" Shen dipped his head by her face and listened to her even breathing.

"She's unconscious," he said tiredly.

"Really. Well," Lady Qihi yawned as she applied a clear salve to the fresh wounds. "I think she's earned a good long rest. And so have I. If you'll excuse me."

"Wait a moment, healer," said Shen. "You're not slipping by that easily. How do you know me?" The old healer gave him a long, quiet look.

"You wouldn't remember, I suppose. You were just a little fledgling." Shen stepped around the table.

"No..." he said carefully. "I don't remember."

"I didn't think it was such a big deal," Lady Qihi said, half to herself. "But the royal governor, oh, he wanted me to fix you. I said, of course, that there was no fixing you, that to that affect, you weren't broken!"

"-Broken?!-"

"-I deal with ailments, and you were perhaps a bit sickly but it was nothing you wouldn't grow out of." She shrugged a little. "You were hatched white; an odd little chick. They considered it a bad omen. Poppycock, I say. Can't imagine what they expected what with all that royal inbreeding."

"I beg your pardon?" Shen balked, a little too loudly. "What _are_ you talking about?" he asked, though he felt somehow that he knew the answer.

The old bamboo rat looked up at him searchingly. "The cure that your father wanted does not exist. I cannot perform magics. I cannot make a white peacock into anything but what he is." Shen saw a flash of his father's face, the face that he hated, with that pitiful, regretful expression that made Shen sick with the power of his own loathing. His head spun. Lady Qihi decided to change the subject.

"It's late. You and your girl may sleep here tonight. Do move her onto her back, please. And good night, young prince." With that, the healer retired to the back room and left Shen alone with the sleeping bat. Shen blocked out thoughts of his father as best he could and strode over to Jinzhang, who was still slumped pathetically over the low table. He dragged her roughly by the waist until she lay sprawled on the floor, her grimy commoner's clothes rumpled. She barely stirred.

Shen tried in ernest to sleep that night by the fire. But he was full of manic energy, bursting with vile, agitated thoughts and yearning wishes. He was a peacock- a white peacock. He was nothing like his father and he knew now, had convinced himself that he had always known, that it _was_ an omen, that the world was turning to a superior age, one that would burn bright with pristine beauty, white-hot. It was he, Shen, who would bring about the new age and no one would stand in his way; no wolf, no bat, no spineless shadows of the past. As he stewed, he paced. His dancing shadow passed back and forth over the still body of the bat.

He felt the satchel of combustible powder within his robe and brought it out, rolled it around in his wing. There was enough to set the city aflame. And it was he, Shen, who could turn the new science of alchemy into a destructive power the like of which the world had never seen. Shen took some fresh bandages from under the healer's table and began to separate the powder into small pockets. Magnesium, Potassium Nitrate. Sulfur and charcoal. He found wax paper tucked away in a dusty drawer. He worked with the chemicals, carefully, delicately, until the cold winter sun crested the horizon.


	13. Canyon Country

XIII.

The forest chirped with hidden insect life and exhaled gusty sighs as the wind rattled and tugged at its branches. Hardy evergreen pines grew here, with thick crusty bark that withstood the cold. They grew stories high and blocked out the sunlight, so that the underbrush was sparse beneath shin-deep snow. The bottoms of Jinzhang's baggy trousers were soaked through. The forest was endless and the terrain was beginning to become more rugged, land hidden beneath snow dotted with pitfalls that kept tripping her up. She was cold and tired and her wing ached, but Shen trudged forward so singlemindedly that she was forced to struggle in his wake for hours in what she felt to be an extremely tense silence. The tension mystified her, and she thought that perhaps it was her own irritability that caused her to read the more-than-usual hostility in Shen's eyes. She stumbled and sunk wetly into a particularly deep trench, groaned miserably.

"Shen," she called out to the peacock, who stopped without turning to look at her. She fought her way free of the snow drift, flailing her bad wing uselessly. "We... We need to stop. We haven't rested since morning, and... aren't you hungry?" she asked hopefully.

"We haven't seen a trace. Not one scrap of evidence that they used this trail." He didn't look at her.

"It's the most direct way. And the snow-"

"Yes," he snapped. "So you keep reminding me."

"... Perhaps they took a different route."

"Why?" Shen turned and shot her a demanding look. "Why would they take another route?" Jinzhang flattened her ears obstinately.

"Perhaps it's more scenic?" she muttered sarcastically. Wrong move. Shen's anger flared.

"What do you think this is, some kind of game? Is this a fun challenge for you?"

"Well, not much fun." Shen advanced on her and she grimaced. "No. Okay? No, I know this is important. I just. I'm tired." Shen sneered.

"You're tired," he repeated.

"I just need a rest."

"You've had a rest," Shen bit out. "We are not stopping."

"But-"

Shen lowered his voice, eyes bulging. "We. Are not. Stopping." Without another word, he turned on his heel picked up his pace with renewed vigor. Jinzhang had no choice but to follow. She was still week from the night before.

Lady Qihi had kindly offered to let Jinzhang and Shen spend another night in her hut, and they of course refused. As they were preparing to leave, she told Jinzhang to rest her wing frequently and had given her extra bandages to exchange for the old ones in a few days. Shen had been oddly quiet since that morning. He said no goodbyes to the master healer as they departed.

Days passed and Jinzhang endured quietly, following her brief argument with Shen. He made the decisions about when they stopped, and their rest never lasted long. When they took an intermission for a few hours on the third night, Jinzhang realized that she needed to change the bandages on her wing. She built a small fire first, using the few pieces of dry tinder that could be found. Then she settled on her haunches and unraveled the long rope of the white cloth. Shen watched indifferently as she bit at it to tear off a smaller piece. Awkwardly, she held the fresh bandage in her teeth as she set about trying to undo the knot around her wing with long, webbed fingers. She picked at the tight knot, grunting in frustration, for quite awhile before Shen sighed, annoyed.

"Stop it." He brushed her wing away, scowling. "Just- here." He undid the bandage with nimble feathers, tugged the new bandage from her mouth and pulled it tight- with a pained yelp from Jinzhang- against the wing before tying a new knot. He repeated this three times, quickly, his slender face dour with concentration, until the chore was done. Jinzhang wanted to speak, but her tongue was suddenly heavy and clumsy. She regained a little composure when he finally pulled away.

"...Thank you..." He glanced over his shoulder at her.

"You're of no use to me lame."

...

Jinzhang's wing was feeling better. It had been a few weeks since the injury and her strength was quickly returning. As per Lady Qihi's instructions, she had stretched it daily. When they weren't on the move, she was moving it in the up and down, loose figure-8 pattern that her wings followed in flight, and it barely hurt anymore. She couldn't wait to be back in the sky.

As for Shen, she had realized by now that there was a distinct change in his demeanor, that he was quite blatantly angry with her, and she didn't understand why. She felt at first that he was just feeling a little panicked about the wolves. But his fervent, hostile glances told her otherwise. He seemed always to be on the very edge of a temper tantrum. And every false step Jinzhang made pushed him a little closer.

As they made progress south, the snow became more shallow and crunched beneath their feet. They avoided the towns that they came across by day, trying to lie low now that the stewardship of Gongmen was aware of Shen's presence. It had occurred to both of them that the crows may have let the officers know where they were headed, so Jinzhang and Shen kept their guard up. But by cover of night, they felt confident enough slip through, buying supplies when needed and blending in with night-walking wanderers and vagabonds that populated the twilight hours.

The landscape began to turn rocky and more jagged- they came across soaring towers of rock and abrupt cliffs that tapered into valleys far below. They were in canyon country. It meant tougher traveling, but it was certainly beautiful. Jinzhang felt like a speck on this dramatic landscape. Toward nightfall, a mist settled over the canyons. Jinzhang could feel the moisture on her fur.

She and Shen were skirting the sharp drop off of a wide canyon, keeping an eye out for a way across. The thick mist enclosed them in a wispy cocoon, obscuring the distant landmarks. There was a sound from far off, a heavy crack.

"Did you hear that?" Jinzhang said, causing Shen to jump, like he had forgotten she was there.

"What?" he snapped crankily.

"I... hn. I don't know."

"Then don't mention it." Shen oozed pent-up hostility.

"I'm trying to keep us safe."

"Oh, yes. The little hero," he muttered. "Isn't she special."

She frowned. "What?"

"If you truly wish to help me, then you'll be significantly less stupid in future."

Jinzhang stopped walking and huffed at Shen. "This is ridiculous. You've been blustering around and glaring at me for weeks. What exactly do I have to do for us just be- be civil?" Shen turned to her and laughed sharply. Their voices echoed hollowly in the damp air.

"Civil! My poor, dear, simple-minded little thing. Do you want to know why I didn't choose you to be my warrior? You're not without skill, of course. It's because you are a child; naive, headstrong, and you _are_ weak. Just look at you." Jinzhang felt suddenly self conscious. She pulled her wing tight against her side. "You've become a burden," he continued. "Because you were too soft-hearted to follow my orders. I despise weakness in my company."

"You're talking about the crow?" Jinzhang's yellow mane bristled. "... I did what was right."

"You did what was foolish. And you paid for it."

"If you feel that way," Jinzhang raised her voice. "Then why didn't you leave me in Harbin?"

Shen's mouth opened and closed twice. He made an incoherent noise. Jinzhang glared daggers through her blindfold.

"I know why," she said doggedly. "I'm here because of _your_ weakness. And you can't stand that."

Shen's red eyes flashed hotly. Slowly, a cold, removed curtain fell over his face, even as his molten aura swelled over Jinzhang. "Be gone," he said, his voice growing in strength. "Get out of my sight." She didn't move. His tone wounded her more deeply than she could say.

"Shen... Listen... I know what it is to be alo-"

"I said GET OUT!" Shen hollered, daggers glinting between feathers. "Out! Leave! NOW!"

She backed away. "I'm sorry-"

"GO!"

Reluctantly, Jinzhang flinched away until the mist swallowed her. She took off her blindfold and stared into the gloom as she walked away. The mist shrouded her thoughts and left her mind blank. She strained her ears and eventually heard the resigned clack-clack of Shen's talons on the rocky path. Crows called somewhere overhead, and their echoes sounded like peels of laughter. When she was a good distance away, she veered right and began walking parallel to him, her feet silent in the sparse undergrowth. She would give him time. Maybe she needed time herself, for she could no longer remember exactly why she had come to this place. But she didn't want to go home.

Out of the mist before her came a big slab of stone that jutted towards the sky. Jinzhang scaled its craggy surface and settled on its peak. She sat, muscles jumping minutely in the chill, and tried to understand the aching in her chest. Shen's mutilated tail still wasn't completely restored. He had been vulnerable to her, elegant face downcast, his regal ego bruised, all his ugly layers peeled back to reveal a damaged, wounded animal, and she had thrown it in his face. How would she ever apologize?

She listened to the thwapping of many wings, to the shuffling of small feet, the worrying click of beaks, and she sighed. "What do you want now?"

After some hesitation, a young male voice piped up. "Nothing, Master. We await your orders." Jinzhang looked up. The birds, all of them young and dressed in various shades of muted green, hopped nervously under her scrutiny. There were at least thirty of them, clustered and wary.

"Orders?" she asked. And after a moment: "... Hei sent you." The crow that had spoken held his wings together and bowed deeply. The others hurriedly did the same.

"We are here to settle a debt. We are grateful and... and our allegiance is with you, Master Jinzhang." Jinzhang stared at him levelly.

"You are released from service. Go home."

"Wai-! No, you don't understand!" Jinzhang, who had started to turn away, looked back with suspicion. "-Master," he finished quickly. "Please excuse me, but we cannot go home. The family has grown too large in number. We were ordered to break off, to form a new murder. I am Hei's son. My name is Zhen." Jinzhang surveyed the crows and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"Zhen. Okay. Uh, I'm sorry about... that, but-"

She was interrupted by a sound that pierced the darkening night like a javelin. It was high-pitched, fluting, avian. It shot a cold bolt of fear through Jinzhang's vains. "Shen," she breathed, and leapt from the rock.

"Shen!"

The night was moonless, inky black. Jinzhang ignored the pain that shot from her right wing into her shoulder as she beat her way through air that felt so thick and heavy. She felt so slow, no matter how frantically she beat her wings. Unable to see through the fog, she sent out her voice and it took a moment- too long- to come back to her with an image. But there was Shen, locked in combat with two massive rhinos, both of them armed with spiked clubs. She had to get a good deal closer to see them with her eyes.

The headhunters had him cornered and were backing him up, slowly but surely, onto a ledge that dropped sharply hundreds of feet to the valley below. Shen struck out with incredible speed and force that was born of desperation. He would never survive the fall, would never be able to glide down from this height. His blade searched for a weak kink in their armor as they closed in, grinning nastily. They deflected his attacks with their broad weapons and thick gauntlets that sparked in contact with the peacock's blade. All the while, they took deliberate steps that caused Shen to hop out of their range. Shen's tail met open air and he whipped his wing horizontally, sending a barrage of daggers flying at their faces. They knocked the lightweight daggers away with yellowed horns and snickered.

"Was that your last trick?" said one.

"It's time to give up," said the other. "Or not. We don't need you alive."

"Or even in one piece!" added the first.

Shen's body buzzed with adrenaline. There was a chance- a slim one- and he would have to take it. "You gonna jump?" said the second headhunter. "You do know yer flightless?" Shen locked eyes with the rhino and lowered his weapon.

"No," he panted, eyes blazing hatefully. "No. I'm not going to jump."

"Ah, brother, brother, look! He wants to live."

The first rhino nodded knowingly. "Just like a royal."

"Is it?"

"I don't know. Suddup and bind his wings."

"That hardly seems necessary," Shen muttered darkly. "You are obviously the finer fighters. I am no match." The second rhino paused at this and looked at his brother, who shrugged.

"Awright, yer majesty. Suite yourself."

"Gladly." In one movement, Shen sidestepped the rhino and swept his long spear around in a low arc, slicing a deep gash in the rhino's ankle. He bellowed, brought up his bleeding foot, lost balance, and toppled into his brother. And as they tumbled over the edge of the cliff, the bleeding rhino dragged a flailing Shen over with them.


	14. The Fall

XIV

In some dusty corner of his mind, Shen marveled at the novelty of the experience of hurdling towards certain death. He rather wished that his last moments weren't spent in the company of an oafish rhino, whose grubby paw still maintained a deathgrip around Shen's slender neck. The peacock opened his wings and tail in a valiant attempt to slow his fall, but the weight of the rhino was far to much for Shen. He kicked and clawed at the headhunter's chest with his talons, but the rhino only tightened his hold. He appeared to be in shock, but there was, as if in slow motion, a dawning light of hatred as the rhino realized that Shen would be responsible for his death. His thumb closed over Shen's windpipe. Not that any of this would matter in a few seconds.

But then a dark blur that became a small crow swooped in and took a clean chunk of flesh out of the headhunter's arm. The rhino let go in surprise and fell away from Shen, shouting something that got caught up in the rushing air. For a breathtaking moment, Shen was free-falling, the air whipping at his body as he struggled to resist the downward pull.

Then he was tugged abruptly, harshly from above and the jolt made his head spin. Struggling to focus his thoughts and his vision, he realized that Jinzhang's legs were hooked under his wings. He grasped her knees as thought they were holding his head above water, looked up to find the soft golden fur of her neck in his face, her jaw rigid as she beat her wings furiously, but gained no altitude and very little speed.

"This... isn't good," she grunted.

"On the contrary," Shen breathed mindlessly into her fur.

"You're dragging me down! Try- try to be... less of yourself," she panted lamely.

"Pardon?" As the adrenaline began to slowly clear from Shen's system, he realized that he was creating too much drag. He tucked his feet in and tried to make himself more aerodynamic, which seemed to help, but just slightly. Jinzhang growled in frustration.

"Hold on," she said, and then she turned her nose sharply downwards and folded her wings. A cry of exhilarated terror was ripped from Shen as they plummeted faster than he had though possible, the canyon floor below rushing to meet them, the world spinning and Shen's body was less than weightless. Jinzhang curved out of the dive and upward, skimming past the canyon's stone walls. Their momentum carried them all the way to the ragged edge of a cliff, where Jinzhang fell, exhausted, to the dusty ground and rolled off of Shen.

They lay side by side, gasping for air and staring unseeingly into the night sky. Minutes passed in silence. Shen was the first to speak.

"My capacity for emotion is quite at its limit now, I think. But you should know: I do not fear solitude." Jinzhang looked at his serious expression and laughed breathlessly, and Shen grinned because it felt somehow appropriate.

"I do," she said and, absurdly, she laughed harder at her own otherwise gloomy statement. And this made Shen laugh. Their laughter escalated until it was silent and bellyaching, because everything in that moment was just so utterly ridiculous, and because Shen wasn't a bloody smear at the bottom of the canyon, and because Jinzhang had to be mind-bogglingly stupid to risk her life for a selfish bastard like him. And Shen was okay with all of that, even happy with it.

...

Jinzhang could not yet see the ocean. Even at this height, the horizon was nothing but a dark, unfocused line, partly obscured by distant forests. It was not as though she knew exactly what the ocean looked like, but she felt she would know it when she saw it. They still had a ways to go yet.

"Master!" Jinzhang sighed and alighted on a tall pillar of rock that jutted from the canyon floor far below. Zhen landed in front of her, scrabbling a bit with loose pebbles. The other crows circled in the air around them, keeping their small black eyes on Jinzhang. Zhen puffed up his chest as best he could. "I understand you and Master Shen are going to Shanghai," he said.

"Ah, yes. Look-"

"We would gladly fly ahead to watch out for more enemies. We could warn you in advance!"

"So kind, I'm sure..." Jinzhang replied awkwardly. "Zhen, ah, thank you for your help with those rhinos, that was great, but listen-"

"You're very welcome, Master."

"I'm not your master! Listen-"

"But, Master-"

"Stop!" Jinzhang rubbed her sore wing tiredly. "Please. Listen to me. All of you!" she implored, gesturing to the circling crows. "This isn't going to work. I'm only accompanying Shen on a quest to locate his... family. You understand?"

"But we can help you," insisted Zhen. "We're kinda young, but we can take care of ourselves, don't worry about that!"

"Why would you want to do that?" asked Jinzhang "Why would you want to endanger and burden yourselves? I'm giving you freedom, releasing your debt! You can make a new home for yourselves. Isn't that what you want?"

Zhen looked from her to his companions, blinking soberly. Finally, he said: "Back home... ever since, well, ever since the peacock got away, there have been attempts on my father's life. Poisonings. Threats. There was even a fire, and we know who is behind it. The guard, I think, has gotten tired of the way the murder runs the city. Mother feared that they would start to target me, so they sent me away. My father made me promise to assist you. If I ever do return... If I ever see him again... Jinzhang, I can't tell him that I failed." Jinzhang stared into his sincere gaze and felt her resolve melt.

"I'm... sorry. So that's the real reason you left. I, uh..." She hesitated.

"What does Master Shen have to say about this?" Zhen ventured, a little sourly. Jinzhang glanced down at where Shen stood, out of earshot, staring up impatiently at them. She shrugged.

"There's really no telling."

"We could be of great use to you."

"I know you could," she replied uncertainly. "...If you insist on helping us find the wolves, then I can't stop you." Zhen brightened and gave a little skip.

"Oh, thank you, Jinzhang! Er, Master-"

"Oh no, the 'Master' is not necessary, please," Jinzhang said quickly. "And this is only until we find the wolves, then you are released. Understood?"

"Perfectly! Yes!" Zhen chirped, reminding Jinzhang briefly of his father. Smiling, she glided down to the waiting Shen.

"We have allies," she greeted cheerfully. Shen raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I thought you were going to dismiss them?" he frowned. She shrugged.

"He makes a good argument. And he owes a debt."

"How noble," Shen said, his lip curling. "Did it occur to you that he might be lying?"

"Yes..." she said carefully. "But why go to the trouble?"

"Why indeed?" Shen leaned in and lowered his voice. "I don't know what he's said to manipulate you, but we have absolutely no reason to believe he's telling the truth."

"What about honor?"

"Honor," he said, "is for the refined-"

"Like you?"

Shen glared at her. "For the refined and those lucky few who can afford to be honorable."

"Ah." Jinzhang nodded. "Well that's very interesting. But the crows have made it clear that they aren't going anywhere. I'll keep a close eye on them. Trust me with this." Shen's gaze drifted to Jinzhang's right wing.

"I'll need to take off that splint."

"What? Oh- I know."

Shen sighed heavily. "Tell them not to talk to me."

Jinzhang grinned. "Of course." She looked up and waved to Zhen, who swooped down and began circling over her head.

"Master?"

"Fly ahead and alert us of any danger."

"Yes, ma'am." Cawing to his fellows, Zhen rocketed nimbly into the sky and was soon a black speck against the rosy dawn.

Later that day, as they took a noontime rest, Shen untied the bandages on Jinzhang's wing for the final time. He was somewhat slower this time, his feathers ghosting lightly over the chafed membrane. The cloth was over her eyes but she could very clearly hear his regular, easy breaths and she shrank back, a little embarrassed. When the last knot was undone, the rod of bamboo fell to the ground. Smiling broadly, she gratefully stretched her wings. "Thank you." He nodded and, with the ghost of a smile, turned and strutted down the path, and Jinzhang followed.


	15. Mind of Metal

XV.

"Take a guess."

"The red phoenix."

"You would think so, wouldn't you?"

"No?"

"No." Shen smirked ruefully. "I was born under the azure dragon of the east." He gestured in a general eastward direction and hmphed resentfully. "Wood. That is my element, according to... according to my family's soothsayer."

Jinzhang blinked thoughtfully at this. "Do you know the stars?"

Shen shrugged. "I was taught some rudimentary astrology and astral divination."

"Divination? Can you tell the future?" Shen looked at her sidelong.

"It's not as simple as all that," he said. "It takes years of scholarly diligence in order to become a competent soothsayer."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why?'" he replied tersely.

"Well. I thought it was just... magic? Bit of help from the gods? I don't know."

Shen rolled his eyes. "Really."

"Well, I've never met a soothsayer," she said. "What are they like?"

Shen thought about this. "Old."

Jinzhang snorted. "They can't all be old," she said.

"Can't they?"

"Well no, because the ones that're old now will've been young at some point."

"I told you," Shen countered, "long years of study."

Jinzhang was quiet for a few minutes, then said: "What else are they like?"

Shen twitched funnily. "Why are you so interested?"

"Why wouldn't I be interested in someone who can tell the future?" Shen pursed his beak at this.

"They're..." He searched for a neutral word. "Opinionated."

Jinzhang cocked her blindfolded head at him and seemed to sense that he didn't want to elaborate. Farther on down the path, she suddenly said, "What's your favorite element?"

"What? I don't have one. That's absurd."

"Mine is water. I don't know what celestial being I was born under, but is doesn't matter. I think you can choose your own element. Maybe the circumstances of birth do rule us but then, maybe not. So if you don't like wood, then choose a new element. What do you choose? Fire?" Shen stared oddly at Jinzhang for a long moment before speaking.

"No," he said. "Metal."

...

Far south of Mt. Heyling, past Harbin and canyons and peaceful hilly rice fields, lay the vibrant green bamboo forests that permeated Southern China like a watershed through porous rock. The bamboo grew densely and often in thick clusters of tall, slender, segmented stalks that made the two travelers think of iron prison bars. Wind caused the stalks to bend creakily and knock together producing dry, wooden clacking sounds as a storm rolled in from the eastern ocean.

Shen was soaked as thoroughly as he felt was possible. The bamboo's slender leaves did little to shield him and Jinzhang from the rain. They walked, hunched slightly against the torrent, slipping in the mud underfoot. Jinzhang's fluffy yellow mane was flattened against her neck and dripping water steadily from her chest. Her cotton clothing clung to her slender frame and she walked with an odd gate because of the unpleasant dampness.

After some time in silence, Jinzhang said, "How long have you known the wolves?" She did this occasionally, asking questions completely out of the blue, most of them unwelcome. Shen liked to keep his own personal details close to his core, beneath his carefully cultivated persona.

"They were the guards at the palace where I was raised," he answered cautiously. Jinzhang nodded.

"A long time then."

"Yes."

The rain picked up and thunder could be heard in the distance. The bamboo creaked. On an impulse, Shen asked, "Who taught you kung fu?"

"I seem to remember you asking me that once before."

Shen quirked a breif smile. "Well?"

Jinzhang watched her feet slosh through the icy mud for a while.

"My father," she said. "My father taught me. What about you?"

Shen's beak closed in a hard line. "My instructor was Master Thundering Rhino." Shen sensed Jinzhang's eyes widen without having to look at her.

"Thundering Rhino," she breathed reverentially. "He's... he's a god!"

Shen snorted derisively. "He's flesh and blood, believe me. Admittedly, he's quite a bit more flesh, but..." He trailed off. Shen had often entertained visions of defeating his old master.

"But he leads the council," Jinzhang continued dreamily. "I've heard he holds Gongmen City now."

Shen cocked his head slightly at her far-off look and smiled crookedly. "Yes. A terribly powerful specimen. But I'm afraid all that muscle cuts off the blood flow to his…shall we say less than brilliant brain. You on the other hand…"

"Eh?" She frowned slightly. "Thought I was _weak."_

"You are," he said. "Terribly so. Whoever said you weren't allowed other attributes?" To Shen's delight, a cautious smile spread over the bat's face.

"Yeah?"

"Mm. It's intelligent creatures like you who are more suited to power, wouldn't you say?" he said lightly. She blinked. "I really rather enjoyed what you said about choosing your own element."

"...right. But I want you to understand something," Jinzhang stammered reproachfully. "Just because you're in love with power doesn't mean I-"

"But it does," he said smoothly.

"But I'm not... I'm not a-!"

"What? A criminal?" His voice turned sharp. "Then what are you doing here?"

"I don't know what you mean."

He stopped suddenly and turned about so that they were face to face. She wouldn't meet his gaze. Thunder thrummed, closer now.

"Allow me to illuminate for you what I feel you haven't yet understood. You are selfish, Jinzhang. And you're tired of obscurity. Mine is a future of merciless, unyielding privilege. It's time to step into the light, as it were. In this case, a light cast by the blazing fires of conquest." Shen advanced and Jinzhang stepped backward, her eyes wide and childlike.

"You feign innocence, but you know exactly who I am and what I stand for. And you don't care, do you?" A slow, indulgent smile slid, serpentine, onto his face as Shen examined her paralyzed expression, rain water beading in her fur. "How perfectly wretched." He leaned in a bit more.

Shen stiffened at the sound of obnoxious cawing and turned, scowling at the sight of a crow weaving toward them. He stepped away as it alighted in the mud in front of Jinzhang and shook itself like a dog, a rather pointless gesture under the current onslaught. It then saluted to Jinzhang.

"Ma'am," it chirped. "I'm afraid the weather has grounded us."

The bat stared at it for a minute, as if processing the words, then responded with a weak laugh. "Understandable. You can walk along behind us," she said.

A bow. "Thank you, Master."

"No," Shen said abruptly. He didn't fear the pack of feather-brained scavengers, but he didn't fancy keeping his back to them either. "They'll walk in front." To Shen's great annoyance, the crow looked to Jinzhang for confirmation, which she gave with a nod. With a quick glance at Shen, the bird cawed once and soon his fellows descended like a horde of black spiders from above. They gathered in a tight, inky black bundle and took the lead as the rain intensified.

It was a miserable night. Chilled to the bone, they pushed through the storm, knowing they wouldn't be able to sleep if they tried. By morning, the band of travelers was exhausted. The crows had slowly migrated from their place out in front and were now loosely surrounding the bat and peacock. All of those involved were now too weary to care.

Shen awoke disoriented. It was midday; cloudless. The storm the night before felt like a hazy nightmare. Lightning flashed behind his eyes. He came to understand that he was lying on the ground, surrounded by bamboo and dozing crows. And there was Jinzhang, lying on her back, head lulling on one shoulder, and wings tightly folded.

Urgency festered in Shen's belly at the thought that the storm may have thrown them off course. They were no longer using a path, but rather the stars and Sun as their compass. Last night they had been running merely on gut intuition. Shen got to his feet and stared around anxiously, then his breath caught.

"Jinzhang." The bat didn't stir. After an impatient moment, Shen wrapped her sharply on the shoulder. Her eyes cracked minutely open and then squinted shut and, hissing through her teeth, she quickly rolled over to block out the sunlight. _"Jinzhang," _Shen barked.

"What?" she snapped, fumbling for her blindfold.

Shen shook his head speechlessly, staring through the green, segmented stalks at a distant but massive grey slab and beyond it, a strip of vibrant blue. It was the ocean.

And the wall of Shanghai.


	16. Shanghai

XVI.

The wall was at least twenty feet high, built with slabs of a rough grey stone that had come from the northern mountains. The prosperous port city of Shanghai had been a looter's dream before the emperor had got his wits about him and had the wall erected. Now it was just a pirate and opium dealer's dream, but this was still an improvement, or so said the brochures. Guards were stationed all along the the wall's rim, each with a bow and arrows. Two of these were also stationed at the gate- the only entrance into Shanghai by land.

"Look," Jinzhang murmured, leaning boredly against cool bamboo. "Another silk merchant." Down below the quiet bamboo grove, a hunch-backed goat, toting several bundles of goods, greeted the guards and was merrily waved through the gate.

"I could pull off silk merchant," Zhen said helpfully. "I used to help my father sell goods."

Jinzhang half smiled. "If we had a big enough cart-"

"We don't have a cart." Shen rubbed his temples. "Think within the realm of possibility. Better yet, don't think. I'll do that, thank you."

Jinzhang was silent for a moment. Then she said, "If we wait till dark, and use strips of cloth to tie together some of this bamboo, we could-"

"We will not wait," Shen retorted sharply. "We cannot afford to wait."

Jinzhang opened her mouth to respond, then wilted sympathetically. "... I know you're worried."

"Just shut up and let me think." Shen's eyes darted from the guards on the wall to the gatekeepers below. With acidic slowness, a twisted little smile crept onto his face. "How are you with a blade, Jinzhang?"

"Ah... Wha- uh, why?"

Shen rummaged briefly within his robes and pulled out a white cloth abandage, knotted so that it made a row of three miniscule pockets which held which held a mystery substance. The bandage was knotted securely on both ends. Jinzhang cocked her head. "What is it?"

Shen's predatory smile widened. "This is our distraction. And so are you." Jinzhang's brows turned up concernedly.

"Do as I say," he said. "And everything will be fine."

...

The fishhouse smelled. There was no polite way to put it. It was ripe with the salty tang of fish flesh that had long ago soaked into the aged wood of the house. The customers buried their sensitive noses in strong ales as they clustered around their leader, the strongest of the pack leaning in at the middle, with the especially old and especially young straining on the fringes of the group.

"This here is the ship," said Lang, clasping a chipped ceramic cup with a gnarled paw. He took a pinch of seasalt and sprinkled it around the cup. "We approach it from all sides. And _on my signal_," he growled, "We board. Without a sound. We cover that deck like a blanket and I don't want to hear a hint of a struggle. The crew is barely twenty, they can't beat our numbers."

To Laoban's right, Meizong bounced excitedly. "I can't wait to be pirates!"

"_Merchants_," Lang snapped. "We are no longer criminals. We have left that chapter of our lives behind-"

"Boss." Loaban cleared his throat. "If someone on lookout should raise the alarm? Won't we be branded as thieves?"

"We will leave none alive. I want this to be clean- no tales to tell." This was followed by grave silence.

"When?" asked Laoban.

"Tonight," replied Lang.

...

Jinzhang's heart thudded in her ears as she neared the guards. One of them a was rather young and dull-eyed crocodile. The other, however, was an older ram who had a fixedly suspicious expression and deep frown lines. They clutched spears in hoof and reptilian hand.

"Good day!" crowed Zhen, who was perched on Jinzhang's shoulder. The croc sort of shook himself awake and gave a distant wave while the ram glowered.

"What be your business here?" asked the ram. Jinzhang plastered on what she hoped was a nonchalant smile.

"We be street performers. Are! We are. Um." She internally smacked herself.

The ram raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are ye now? Ye aren't much dressed the part." He gestured to her filthy clothes. She had done her best to clean them in rivers and streams, but she hadn't changed them in nearly a month and they were old. The colors were faded.

"Yes. Well. Why do you think we're here, eh?" she said with forced cheer. "Just starting out, aren't we? No better place to make your fortune!"

"Hmph. What's wrong with yer eyes?"

"I... lost them. In a fire," Jinzhang babbled. "Terrible, just... popped right out. And sizzled..." She made a ssss noise through her teeth. The guards stared.

"Whoa," said the crocodile. Jinzhang shrugged.

"What's yer act, then?" continued the ram, unfazed.

"I'm so glad you asked," she replied jovially, swaying a little where she stood. Nervous acid was eating a hole in her stomach. Where was Shen?

"My name," Jinzhang opened her wings grandiosely, revealing five concealed daggers. "is Jin of the Flying Daggers, and this is my daring assistant, Zhen." Not surprisingly, the guards immediately shoved their weapons in Jinzhang's face at the sight of the blades.

"I know you can't see it, lady, but we got our spears at your throat so you better just drop your weapons and-" Jinzhang interrupted the croc with the high-pitched laugh of a bat in extreme distress.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," she appeased, laying down the weapons gingerly. "It's all part of the show, you see? I am a knife thrower."

"A blind knife thrower?" asked the croc.

"And if I could see?" she replied coolly. "Where would be the fun in that?"

After a moment of consideration, the croc grinned quite toothily. "Let's see, then!"

"Yes," added the ram, his spear still raised. "Let's see."

Jinzhang's smile was stretching her face uncomfortably. "Of course. Assistant?"

With a little bow, Zhen flew up several feet and clung vertically against the side of the wall with his feet and fanned his tail and wings. Jinzhang backed up about ten feet, clasping the daggers Shen had loaned her. They were gorgeous silver things- well balanced and carved to look like his primary wing feathers. She wondered if he would kill her for dropping them in the dirt. She faced the wall, took a deep breath and made sure she was holding Zhen in her inner vision. She grasped the first knife loosely, feeling its lightness and curve, double-checking the distance from where she stood to her target. It was almost disturbing how compliant Zhen was with all this. She let loose the knife. It spun through the air, tip over razor tip, and embedded itself right in the stone- between the middle feathers of Zhen's tail.

The croc whooped delightedly. "Again! Again!" Even the old ram seemed to have loosened up.

Jinzhang laughed at his eagerness, a little more confident. She couldn't resist calling out to the crow. "How are you doing, my friend?"

"Great!" he called cheerfully. Jinzhang sighed and raised another dagger-

-There was then a noise that rocked against Jinzhang's ears and blinded her for a moment with the strength of its vibrations. It came from somewhere further down the wall and was accompanied by a cracking, ripping sound as the wall took the force of the explosion. There was a second explosion, a third, the sound of animals shouting. The vibrations left Jinzhang a little dazed. The blurry forms of the two gatekeepers abandoned their posts. One of the wooden lookout towers was on fire. An annoying ringing sound was distracting her. Zhen was suddenly flitting about in front of her. "All clear, Master. Master?"

Then a force came from behind and thwacked her hard in the small of her back. "What are you doing?" hissed Shen as he sprinted past her. "Get moving!"

At this, she did get moving, trying valiently to focus on the unattended gate and the train of Shen's billowing cloak. They dashed through the gate, onto a city road where a crowd had gathered to observe the flames. Jinzhang had lost track of Zhen, but Shen was there in front of her, swerving into the crowd, keeping his hooded head low. The fire roared, and Jinzhang fought the impulse to fly above the crowd, diving after Shen into the oveheated air, between jostling bodies. She lost sight of Shen, broke free of the throng, and located him again, just as his tail turned the corner of an alley between shop fronts. She tore after him and, just as she entered the alley, something grasped her wing tightly and dragged her into a dusky little niche in the shadows, and she found herself plastered to a wall with Shen's wing over her mouth to stifle any surprised sounds, though she made none.

"We'll stay here till dusk," came Shen's voice, much too close to her ear. She nodded warily, and he removed his wing from her face. Two or three guards ran past the alley's entrance. After and hushed silence, he continued: "That went rather well, actually."

"Where's Zhen? I think he lost sight of us," Jinzhang said.

"Even better."

Jinzhang worried her bottom lip. "I should-" She started to stand.

Shen took her by the shoulders and roughly tugged her back down. "He'll manage without you for a few hours," he said, rather nastily.

"I suppose..." She could practically feel him rolling his eyes.

The air here was still, but Jinzhang could still catch whiffs of burning wood, and of course, she could smell Shen, who, like any animal that had spent the past three weeks in the wilderness, didn't smell his freshest. There was soil, sweat, the wild onions they had come across that morning, and the fresh bite of fireworks powder about him. And underneath all that, now that she was close, there was something distinctly Shen that she couldn't describe properly, but she felt it would taste like a spicy black tea.

Something in the air changed and Shen leaned down and confirmed it. "They've suffocated the fire," he said, a note of disappointment in his voice.

"That was a gamble, you know," said Jinzhang. "It might have got picked up by the wind and spread to the city. Then what would we do?"

Shen made an unrepentant noise. "Putting up with a bit of risk is the only way to get anything done. I should have thought you knew that by now." Jinzhang had nothing to say to this.

Minutes passed and accumulated. The confusion outside dissipated, but they were still vulnerable until they had the cover of night. So they waited still. Jinzhang grew uncomfortable, kneeling as she was on the balls of her feet. She repositioned herself but this only served to push her into Shen's side, which was at once quite soft and warm, and also a thousand times more uncomfortable. She scrunched back into the corner with a mumbled apology that he did not acknowledge. After about a half an hour of tense silence, the metaphorical dam of unasked questions burst once more.

"What are you going to say to the wolves when we find them? ... Shen?" There was no answer. "Too personal?"

"Quite."

"Okay. What about this: Where did that bomb come from?"

"You remember that ramshackle fireworks tent in Harbin."

"They wouldn't sell anything like that."

"No, but they sold the raw ingredients for an explosive concoction. When the chemicals are already purified, it's as simple as lighting the fuse."

Jinzhang attempted to hide her awe by angling herself toward the street. He still smirked vainly, like he could read her mind. "Fireworks," she said distantly. She knew so little about Shen's upbringing. But she did know, as everyone knew, that it was Shen's mother and father who had invented the pyrotechnic marvels that had so awed the nation. "I never knew exactly what they were. I thought..."

"Thought they were magic?" he goaded quietly.

"Well, I-" she began. He chuckled, and to Jinzhang's utter amazement and mild horror, he laid his head very lightly on the thick fur on the crown of her head. Everything was suddenly tender and private and Jinzhang felt she may burst, screaming, from the alleyway. But she stayed put.

After very careful consideration she said, her voice uneven, "How are fireworks made?"

"There's a good deal to tell," came Shen's sleepy voice.

"Tell me."


	17. Alpha

XVII.

_It was a lopsided little cube of metal, dull silver and weighted. Laoban rolled it around in his paw with bemused fascination. "It's cool," he said. "What is it?"_

_"Cesium, rubidium nitrate, titanium," Shen said promptly. "And a binder to keep it stable."_

_"Oh." The wolf pup stared at the pyrotechnic star a bit longer. He looked up. "But what _is _it?"_

_Shen thoughtfully took the metal cube between delicate feathers and recalled something his own mother had once told him. "It's a seed," he said. "And when you plant it in the sky, a flower blooms."_

_"Huh." Laoban looked still more perplexed. "I thought it was supposed to make a firework."_

_Shen gave him a deadpan look. "...Let's blow it up, shall we?"_

_The pup's face lit up at this. Here, he was on much firmer ground. "Yeah."_

...

The docks of Shanghai were alive and writhing with nighttime debauchery. Business overflowed and bar patrons spilled out into the crisp air, their drunken voices floating on the salty currents. A lone crow circled overhead. Lanterns swung on their hinges and cast dizzying shapes into the dark. Lingering beyond their light, figures moved unseen. These were stooped, box-chested, stealthy, silent on padded feet.

Laoban was hungry and so were the rest of the wolves. There is a lot to be said about hungry wolves in the night, and none of it pleasant. Everything made Laoban angry when he was hungry; the most insignificant gesture became insult. Tensions within the pack were strung tight enough to strum a dirge, and Lang grew more ruthless every day to keep order among the bickering canines. And he was hungry too.

And there was something about being a carnivore, Laoban thought as he slipped soundlessly into the freezing ocean water. He felt his body seize and began to tread water. Everything was harder when his body was weakened this way. Something dark within him was brought closer to the surface. It was all about being a carnivore.

He dug his thick nails into the hull of the ship and began the climb. His back paws were slick and useless and he found himself pulling his weight with his upper body alone. His stomach churned with acid and day-old bread. He hopped onto the deck and crouched for a moment. Then he leapt onto the hulking column of the main mast and climbed, paw over paw, until he reached the platform at its peak. There stood a stalky young crane with his back to the wolf. The crane was white with a yellow crown and wore dark, outlandish clothing. He was the look-out. Laoban flicked open his pocket knife. Quick and clean. No alarms. He slowly raised the knife level with the center of the crane's long neck, hesitated. Did he have it in him?

Yes. Perhaps he hated it, deep down, but he did have it. He was hungry.

Suddenly, the crane squawked at the top of his lungs, hopping into the air with his wings thwapping. Laoban nearly lost balance in his surprise. His arms pinwheeled. "Captain! Captain!" hollered the crane, diving toward the deck. Laoban cursed under his breath and dove after it. He was about to leap on the sailor and break the bloody thing's neck when the captain burst from his cabin. Laoban ducked out of sight and sat hunched underneath the cover of a large crate.

"Captain, captain!"

"Yes! Yes, what?! Are we under attack?"

The crane shook his head frantically. So he hadn't sensed Laoban or caught sight of the other wolves. "I saw- You'll never believe-!"

"Spit it out, man! Annunciate!" shouted the captain.

"I saw the prince, sir! The one they've been looking for!" Laoban's stomach clenched with some unnamable sensation. For once, it wasn't hunger.

The captain's face was hidden from view, but there was awe in his voice. "No."

"I'm sure of it, sir. He's on the docks. Can't mistake those feathers."

"By the gods..."

"What are your orders, captain?" Laoban didn't stick around to find out what the captain's orders were. He scrambled over the side of the ship, hit the water with a splash that would surely alert the two sailors, but he wasn't thinking about that anymore. He had to see. It couldn't be, but if it was... If it really was him, then how could he ever face him again?

Huffing and spluttering, Laoban emerged from the water, shivering and wild-eyed. Before he could orient himself, he was dragged to his feet by the dangerously irate Lang. "What the hell was that?" Lang snarled, inches from his subordinate's face.

"Sir, there was- the look-out..." Realizing that Lang didn't know, Laoban shut his mouth and searched frantically for a viable lie. Impatient, Lang grabbed a fistful of Laoban's fur and threw the younger wolf to the ground.

"You fool!" he said, his voice turning guttural with fury. He snapped his teeth as Laoban attempted to stand, then kicked him hard in the gut so that the one-eyed wolf doubled over in pain. "Stay down! Stay down if you want to live. I won't give you another chance to endanger this pack."

Laoban looked up into his leader's border-line hysterical expression and flattened his ears regretfully. Lang's breath came in throaty growls and snorts. His yellow eyes bulged manically.

"I've never seen a countenance quite so deranged, Lang," said a smooth, upperclass voice from somewhere behind. "I can't say it doesn't suite you."

Both wolves froze. From where he lay, Laoban craned his neck to see the newcomer, and he felt his heart take a painful misstep. The peacock was worn from travel but innately resplendent, with his tail fanned behind him like a half-moon against the black sky, eyelets stained red as fresh blood. The bat, unkempt and diminutive, stood a little behind in a defensive crouch.

Lang spat on the ground. "You're an awful sorry sight, my lord," he said scornfully.

Lord Shen smiled his thin, cordial smile. "It must be difficult, I know," he said, "to see your lord so far removed from the high pedestal of his divine right. But you needn't worry." His voice lowered. "I am still your master."

Lang sneered heatedly. The peacock's eyes drifted down to Laoban, who was suddenly deeply shamed by that gaze. Quickly, he pushed himself to his feet, but Lang kicked him once more, between the shoulder blades, hissing, "I'll deal with you later, pup." He then strode toward Shen, the fur along his spine standing at attention. "By natural law of combat, I should have killed you before. Only spared your life for the sake of your poor, dead, mother. But no more."

Shen's eyes blazed with hatred. His body tensed for battle, curling in like a spring. The air popped with the electricity of their animosity in that moment before the tension shattered and they sprang at the same time. They were locked instantly in a torrent of clawing limbs and murderous blows. Shen swept in low and sliced at the wolf's knees with his talons, earning a tortured howl. Lang was out of his mind with rage. Before Shen could weave away, he grabbed the bird around the neck and hurled him into a cement wall. He was, for a moment, stunned and he blinked rapidly, faltering as Lang advanced.

"It's _you_!" the wolf cried. "You poison everything you touch! You're a curse!" He pounded his fists into Shen's throat so that he choked. The bat, Jinzhang, attempted to come between them then and was brutally knocked away. "You're a plague! You're a _disease_!" Lang leaned into the esophagus, claws puncturing skin. "You're the reason my family is starving, the reason we are all criminals!" Shen's mouth gaped breathlessly. He kicked out futally.

"Lang!" Laoban rushed up behind the alpha, grabbed him about the shoulders and threw him with all of his might off of Shen. "That's enough!" He yelped as Lang whipped around and struck him hard enough that he felt his teeth rattle. By now, the confused and terrified wolves had left their posts and gathered around to see the commotion. Laoban felt their eyes as he stumbled. His heart was beating rapidly and he felt the burning, lapping tongue of anger spread throughout his body as Lang wheeled about and charged again for the gagging Shen and the kneeling bat.

Laoban flung himself forward and rammed the alpha with all his strength. Digging his feet into the rough wood and clinging to the clothes of the older male, he managed to tip him onto his back. Lang snarled and snapped at Laoban's throat. Fear and rage pumped thick through Laoban's brain as he bit fast at Lang's face and throat, jumped away and then clashed again, all teeth and claws, feeling the wounds usher forth his own blood and smelling the pungent blood of his leader, tasting it between his own teeth. They grappled until Laoban's strength and stamina overcame and Lang was toppled onto his back once more. Crazed eyes glared but his body went limp and Laoban stood panting over the old wolf, pink drool dripping from his chops. The world slid slowly back into rationality and Laoban became once more aware of the staring eyes of his fellows.

Blinking with dull astonishment, he stepped off of Lang and stared around. Lang stirred slowly, and, his eyes downcast, got to his feet. They stood there breathing heavily for what felt like a century. Lang tossed his head in Shen's direction. "I hope you're happy." Shen only stared with intensity, his own wing feathers brushing his throat. Then Lang turned and limped away into the dark.


	18. Ambush

XVIII.

The wolves parted respectfully to let Shen through. Laoban stood in the center of the throng, battered and bloodied but very much alive. Only a few wolves had followed Lang, Lang's children and grandchildren among them. The rest stayed and even celebrated Laoban's assertion as the alpha male. Laoban himself was still rather stunned by his own brazenness. His eyes met with Shen's and a number of different conflicting messages seemed to pass between them, unspoken. Shen's throat still burned from the fight, but even more unbearable was the damage to his swollen ego. But both would recover. More significantly, now that Shen was finally here, he was at a complete loss for words. Laoban seemed to be having similar difficulties.

"You... came all this way," the wolf finally said. The others quieted and looked from their new alpha to Shen.

"Yes..." Shen said. "I have." He then raised his voice and cast his gaze around at the assembled wolves. "I have come from the mountains of the northern province, in search of those that deserted me. I am born heir to the royal line of Gongmen. I stand aside for no one. I run from nothing.

"Are you hungry? Have you been oppressed? This is where your hunger ends." The wolves stood and listened with rapt attention. "I will lead you into dominance." Appreciative hoots erupted in the crowd. Shen spoke over them. "You must remember to leave the old China behind. There is a better life out there. We must take it!" There was a murmur of frenzied excitement. Shen strode proudly through the crowd, his dark-rimmed eyes passing over each face, his tail unfurled behind him. "Will you redeem yourselves? Will you treasure what honor remains in you? Will you meet me as my subjects or as my enemies when the time comes that I am ruler of this land?" He stopped before Laoban and they stared at eachother. "Will you?"

Laoban could not tare his eyes away from Shen's. He was transfixed. After both a minute and an eternity, he said, "my lord," and he knelt before Shen. One by one at first, and then together, the wolves all knelt on one knee, fisted paw pressed into the other flat-palmed paw, their heads bowed.

Jinzhang, who had been watching the proceedings in silent awe, suddenly felt conspicuous and edged away, embarrassed of her own unremarkable stature. Shen was a bright, white flame in the darkness; a beacon that called to his subjects as a lighthouse drew lost vessels to port. And for the moment, Jinzhang's mind was wiped clean of all unpleasantness, and she saw only the sharp-edged clarity of his perfect design. He believed in his cause, and because he believed, so Jinzhang also believed, and so did the wolves.

Laoban straightened before the young lord. He was a good deal taller than Shen, and thicker with bulky muscle and matted charcoal colored fur. "I'm glad you're back, my lord." Laoban rumbled. "Things have been… rough. I hope you can, well…"

"Lang is gone." Shen cut him off, a touch smugly. "That is the end of it." Then the peacock came surreptitiously close. "But be warned, wolf," he rasped. "Should you ever betray me again, you will not walk away from it."

Laoban's fur rose almost imperceptibly, and he swallowed. Then his red eye captured Jinzhang as she crept shyly closer and he grinned like an absurdly menacing puppy. "No," he crowed, a little too enthusiastically. "Not the little bat! But whoever will watch that fountain thingie now?" he said with mock astonishment, cuffing Jinzhang affectionately over the ear. He ducked down so that he was at eyelevel with her and said "I'm playin' with you, sweetheart. Glad to have you on board. Welcome to the fun side of the law!"

Jinzhang flushed and flashed a nervous smile around at the watching wolves. "Well, actually. You see. Eh…" She trailed off as she noticed Shen looking at her with those intense, studious eyes. "I never planned to… That is…"

"We shall discuss it later." Shen said, rather severely. Jinzhang ran a wing tip through her yellow mane and nodded gratefully.

Shen returned his attention to the throng of wolves. "Your alpha, Laoban, has pledged his loyalty to my cause. Together," Shen boomed, "we will fell all those who oppose us. We will-" He paused, distracted. "We will..." The noise was the steady _tap, tap_ of a walking stick on the cobbles. Shen glanced in its direction and what he saw immediately consumed his attention. Hobbling up the street toward where the wolves were gathered on the docks was a figure that Jinzhang recognized, though she had never met him. He was an old green tortoise, clad in the yellow robes of the Jade Palace. He was the most preeminent kung fu master of all time, and he was walking calmly, downright serenely, up to Shen. The wolves, unsure of what to make of the situation, parted for the tortoise.

"I believe, young lord," the Grand Master said, his voice dimpled with humor, "that there is no need for introductions."

Shen looked at him guardedly. His eyes darted around then fell back upon the tortoise and he smiled thinly. "As one old friend may greet another. You flatter me." He folded his wings behind his back. "What brings you to Shanghai, Master Ooguay?"

"You have."

"Ah." Behind Shen, Laoban and those wolves nearest him bristled threateningly.

The Grand Master tilted his head in an amicable fashion. "You may know that I am in the business of keeping peace."

"I doubt that business is particularly lucrative."

Ooguay smiled slightly. "Show kindness and recieve kindness. But forgive an old tortoise and his proverbs; I do hate to skirt around the point."

"Oh?" Shen raised an eyebrow. "There was a point?" Ooguay ignored this.

"Shen," he said, "You are young. You have made mistakes. I am here to offer you a chance, very likely your last chance. Your path diverges here."

Shen sneered. "You can't be serious."

"I see that you are driven by an unquenchable passion. And I must tell you, your passion will mean your downfall. A pure heart desires little-"

"My vision _is_ pure." Shen cut in coldly. "And I will not be lectured by a doddering old recluse."

"I do not wish for blood to be spilt tonight." Ooguay's voice had lost its kindly note and hardened noticably.

Shen stood a little taller. "I will retreat before no one."

Ooguay surveyed Shen's conviction and sighed. "I do wish that I could sway you, Shen. You will regret this decision before the end."

"Oh yes?" Shen gave a disdainful laugh and made to turn his back on the tortoise. "I think that's quite enough." He waved his wing vaguely and Laoban darted between Oogway and his master, wolves flanking him on both sides.

"You gonna fight us all off, old dude?" Laoban chuckled, surprisingly good-naturedly, considering the circumstances.

Oogway responded with an equally cheerful wave of his staff. "Oh, no," he said. And then the shift began. It was a cold well pooling in their stomachs, a shiver crawling across their shoulders. All down the cobbled street, ramshackle wooden doors swung open. Animals, old and young, of all shapes and sizes and colors, stepped from their dwellings into the sparse lantern light. In their claws and wings and hooves were objects- household brooms and fire pokers, blazing torches, sharp-bladed rice croppers and various other hideous farming tools. They poured from homes, from bars, from farther down the street, from other streets as well. And every hostile eye was fixed on Shen.

"The citizens of this fine town have been gracious enough to offer their assistance," Ooguay said gravely. He raised his staff so that its tip hovered over the cobbles. "For your benefit, I will temporarily forget what you said about retreat, if you like."

Laoban gripped his war hammer, looking a good deal like the cat who just realized what's on the other end of the lion's tail. The Shanghai citizens seemed to be multiplying with every second. "Lord Shen? Your orders?" The wolf looked back. "Shen?"

Shen shook himself from his stupor, and, just as Ooguay's staff came down to meet the ground, he shouted "Retreat!" The pack scattered like a disturbed ant mound as Ooguay's makeshift army surged forward in a roaring wave of flailing limbs and raised voices. Shen dodged by the bulky bodies of the frenzied wolves, his head whipping about. He was astonished at how quickly he had lost his grip on the situation. He didn't fully realize that the mob had them boxed in before he began to hear the splashes. Wolves were throwing themselves off the docks and into the icy ocean waters. Shen allowed himself to be carried with the flow of the crowd. He felt the ground drop from underneath him and the water engulfed him, cold and black. He tasted salt and breathed it for a moment before his head crested the surface. He could hear rather than see the splashing wolves all around him. He craned his head and saw a line of undulating figures, backlit by wicked orange light, shouting vague obscenities and chucking their weapons like javelins into the murky water. Shen's mind scrambled for some kind of clear direction. He was pin wheeling in the dark.

"Shen!" Her voice came from above. Jinzhang swooped low, gripping a burning torch with her feet that trailed red sparks in its wake. "Everyone!" she screamed over the confusion. "Follow my light!" She circled a few times, repeating her message, the flame dancing a tortured rhythm, gathering up the attention of the scattered wolves. She swerved to avoid several projectiles from the mob, then glided off, the flame beckoning.

Shen, who was not what one might call a strong swimmer, began at once to beat the water with adrenaline-infused vigor, kicking out behind him like there were piranhas clinging rabidly at his tail. Gradually, the hellish shrieking of the mob faded and Shen heard only the splashing of his subordinates and his own harsh breathing. He couldn't guess where Jinzhang was leading them, but he hoped it was close. For one terrifying minute, he imagined that that flickering light was just a large star, then Jinzhang had doubled back to check that they kept sight of her.

Finally, Shen heard the muted voices that indicated that those in front of him had reached land. As he clawed his way onto slick, wave-battered rock, he caught sight of Laoban, who tipped back his massive head and howled, long and resonating.

"Oh, must you make that hideous racket?" Shen snapped, dripping and stumbling into the dim torchlight, where the wolves crouched in a loose circle.

"Shen!" Jinzhang squeaked, darting to his side and looking him over like a flustered hen.

"Sorry, sir," Laoban said. "I need to make sure the others find their way." With that, he barked at one of the wolves to perform a headcount.

"That was…" Jinzhang shook her head. "They truly meant to kill us."

"No," Shen muttered. "They wanted us for tea." It was then that Shen realized that they were standing at the gaping mouth of an impressively sized cave that delved into the rocky seaside cliffs. The cliffs seemed to stretch for miles into the night. The cave was enormous and domed, its mysterious inky depths both inviting and repellant. Jinzhang noticed him staring.

"It's huge, isn't it?" She said. "The first chamber is unbelievable. And then it gets narrower, but not by much, and splits into separate tunnels."

Shen looked at her like she had grown a third eye. "How do you know that?"

"Ah. Well. That's kind of a long, um… thing."

"All are accounted for, boss," said the wolf that had done the headcount.

Loaban's great barrel chest deflated in a sigh. "They woulda fished us out like sardines if it wasn't for you," He grinned. "Your're an angel, Jinny."

"Oh…" Jinzhang's wings fluttered about in front of her, as though she didn't know where to put them.

Laoban winked at her (or at least, it appeared to be a wink), then got on all fours and shook from his shoulders to his tail, spattering sea water on the rocks. He straightened, blinked happily. "This has been an exciting night, hasn't it?"


	19. The Caves

XIX.

The ocean lapped rhythmically against the rocks in the pink light of dawn. Shanghai was a fuzzy strip of grey on the horizon. And there was a ship on the waves; a large ship. And judging by its meandering movement, there was a good chance it was in search of Shen and his party of fugitives. While Laoban and the wolves were discussing a plan of action, Shen slipped away and cornered a blindfolded Jinzhang against the lip of the cave.

"You can see me," he said, almost accusatorily. "At this moment."

"No. Well, and yes."

Shen glanced impatiently at the waves. "It's time to talk. I haven't pressed the issue before, but we weren't facing our doom before," he said in a rush. "We can't climb these cliffs. We can't swim to shore in time. And I'm not going in there" -he pointed into the cave's blackness- "unless you explain exactly how I can survive it. Now."

"Um." Jinzhang fiddled with the hem of her tunic.

"Don't 'um,'" he snapped. "Just talk. I can't deal with 'um' right now."

"Ok. Yes. You're right, I can see without actually… seeing," she said lamely. "But I can't really explain how. It has to do with sound. I don't know."

"Sound," Shen repeated. "Good enough." He turned to the wolves. "We're headed into the caves."

…

The chamber was domed and expansive, and the gurgling of distant running water was amplified by the shape of the space. The party waded knee-deep through trapped sea-water that had drained in during high tide. Sunlight spilled in from behind, and the rock was bleached by a thousand sunrises like this one.

As they ventured deeper, the harsh light vanished and the walls drew together as the passage narrowed. The group huddled close to the light of the torch, which Jinzhang had handed to Shen, and Jinzhang removed her blindfold. She blinked about. The walls were smooth as glass and streaked with layers of sediment.

"This tunnel looks like it'll fill up when the tide comes in," she said into the silence. "But it opens up further down. It gets dryer." She could feel the stares.

"So…" Laoban began uncertainly. "You're, like, psychic, or what?"

Jinzhang frowned. "No. No, just," she sighed. She had had some time to clear her head now, but she still wondered if the words would come out right. "When you talk, or make any noise at all, the sound bounces off things-"

"_I_ do that?" Laoban asked, appalled.

"Yeah, I mean," she answered. "Everyone does that."

"Do I do that?" asked a wolf in the back.

"Yes-"

"I don't think_ I_ do," came another voice.

"But- no, I mean, you can't _help _it! Look, noise doesn't just look for an ear to pop into. It moves around. The ear just happens to be in the way."

"I guess that makes sense," Laoban said. "I hear Shen talk to himself all the time when he doesn't mean for me to."

"Really?" Jinzhang pricked her ears. "What does he say?"

"Shut your mongrel snout before I shut it for you," Shen cut in, without turning to look at either of them.

"That's the gist of it, yeah." Laoban murmured, and Jinzhang laughed quietly.

The tunnel opened up into another chamber, where water trickled in through porous rock and formed stalactites. The large ones were long, pointed columns that jutted menacingly from the carapace of the chamber. The smaller, younger stalactites were more delicate- like icicles clinging to pale morning. They gleamed with moisture in the firelight.

"Anyway," she said, hushed now, as though she were back in the temple. "What I'm saying is that when I hear sound while it's bouncing around, it tells me what the world looks like. But not the way my eyes do- it- ugh. I guess that doesn't make much sense. It's hard to explain." She shrugged apologetically.

They travelled deeper and deeper into the caves, taking the occasional direction from Jinzhang. The murky water was only shin-deep and Shen's torch was burning low when a wolf called out with disturbing new information. "Oi, boss! There's something in the water!" This being exactly what they did not want to hear, those assembled all went quite still, wondering at what point they should begin to panic. There was some splashing, and then: "It's really slimy, too."

Wolves threw themselves out of the way as the one who had caught the slimy thing made his way over toward a revolted looking Shen to look at the creature in the dwindling light. The thing was ghostly pale and wriggling like mad in the wolf's grip. It was a fish, but it was eyeless and its scales were smooth like skin stretched taught. Shen made a strangled sound of disgust and Jinzhang looked horrified. "Put it back!" she cried. "You're suffocating it!"

"You kidding?" exclaimed the wolf. "This thing may be ugly, but it's perfectly edible." He turned the gasping thing over in his paws. "… I think."

"You're going to-?" Aghast, she couldn't finish the sentence.

The wolf licked his chops with a nasty grin, but stopped smiling when his alpha whacked him in the back of the head. "Show some respect and get back in position," Laoban barked.

"Yes, boss." He slunk away, still holding the gasping fish.

"Listen, Jin," Laoban looked at Jinzhang uncertainly. "Maybe you ought to, you know, get lost for a while. Until things are less… eh, carnivorous." He shrugged meaningfully.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. The wolves were becoming restless. "Y-you… How, how can you expect me to just-?!"

"Go ahead and give the order before they riot," Shen sighed. His calmness frightened her.

Laoban nodded. "Let's go fishing, boys."

At once, there was a cacophony of splashing water and the building rumbling of a collective growl. Jinzhang's eyes could make out the dim outline of hunched bodies, and beyond that was just a frenzied blur of pouncing forms and flying water. She backed away, her eyes stinging as she began to smell blood. It was a sick, briny smell, and in her mind there flashed the unwanted images of the sightless fish being torn apart, of teeth sinking into flesh.

Jinzhang turned and fled. She flew around a bend and into a little alcove and pasted her wings over her big ears to try to block out the sounds and pictures. After some minutes, she heard the approaching _clack, clack_ of Shen's talons and she scrunched against the smooth stone, trying to make herself invisible. Shen stopped _clacking_ and cocked his head at her.

"Leave me," she said, her voice muffled against her fur. "I'll be fine." She was shivering and her eyes still stung, but she didn't cry.

"Savages, aren't they?" Shen said sardonically. "It's in their nature, of course. Do you blame them?" The question was genuinely curious. Jinzhang didn't answer.

At length, she said, "Did you…?"

"Certainly not. Not that I've never eaten fish. River trout is a delicacy in Gongmen." Jinzhang made a face and buried her head in the crook of her wing.

"Why do you burden yourself with meaningless principles?" Shen wondered blithely. She looked at him then. The torchlight cast half his face in deep shadow. He was nearer than she thought, and his nearness wiped her thoughts clean.

"I don't know," she said.

…

Shen could not say that he enjoyed creeping about underground like some lower life form, but it did have its benefits. They were all anonymous here. He began to see it as the ideal mode of travel for wanted fugitives, particularly because, if they ever _were_ pursued in this place, the winding tunnels and cavernous pitfalls would ensure that their enemies would never escape the caves.

Food was the only real problem. The pack lived off of fish when they could find it, but Shen and Jinzhang refused, for entirely different reasons.

A week into their underground exploits, Jinzhang informed Shen that there was an opening onto the surface, large enough for them to climb through, one at a tme. They checked it out and discovered that a town was only a few miles away. In desperate need of supplies, Shen arranged a raid, sending Laoban and ten of his strongest in the dead of night. They returned with satchels full of food, money, alcohol, and matches. With the town in an uproar, they lit a few more torches and descended into the darkness once more.


	20. The Village

XX.

Weeks passed. The caves appeared less and less hospitable to the travelers. Here, time was frozen in perpetual night. The stone looked alive, stood like sentinels watching them in the darkness, and flowed like liquid where the water shaped it, hanging in long, elastic strings. The water itself gathered in pools so still that their surfaces were entirely perfect mirrors, portals into another world.

The party rested infrequently. Their travel would have been a sleepy meandering if it weren't for Shen, who maintained a prideful pace. The caves had been sloping upwards for the past week. They would return to the surface soon, and hopefully their unexplained disappearance from Shanghai was enough to shake the watchful eye of the Gongmen stewardship.

They rested in an alcove by a narrow, fast-moving underground stream. The rock cleaned the water and it was cold and incredibly clear. The wolves gathered around it and lapped at the water, scooping it in their paws and bringing it to their faces.

The wolves where all large and muscular, except for three skinny pups that were fathered by a lower-ranked male. The pups' only peers, Lang's young grandchildren, had left, erasing his lineage from the pack. But the adults were doing what they could to keep the three of them from loneliness. Laoban in particular enjoyed their company. He wrestled with them and told them stories.

As Jinzhang watched nearby, the pups gathered close to Laoban and pricked their small ears. He told them a folk tale about a wolf and a fox in a cave full of precious stones. Jinzhang listened quietly. Muted voices could be heard echoing gently as wolves grouped and chatted. They were careful with each other. Considerate. Playful. Sprinkles of soft laughter lit up the darkness and hard emotion swelled somewhere deep in Jinzhang's chest. She closed her eyes and began to understand the complex love that was family. These creatures had been Shen's surrogate family since his banishment, perhaps longer. Even the peacock must have felt their warmth. And maybe he was soothed by it.

Jinzhang thought of her father, as she was forever thinking of her father. She thought of cold nights in the dead of winter, when she had slept by his side and heard his heart beat in the night. In her earliest memories, he had stayed up with her when she could not sleep at night. Battling a lifeless dummy in the early days of kung fu. Learning calligraphy with brush and ink. She would never have more of these memories, so she kept them fresh in her mind.

"Laoban. Jinzhang." The wolves fell silent and Jinzhang opened her eyes and looked at Shen, whose expression was expectant, but otherwise unreadable. He looked at Laoban, and then at Jinzhang and tossed his head, motioning for them to follow. Jinzhang stood concernedly and trotted the peacock's side.

Shen turned and wordlessly lead them into a short, tight, tunnel, so that they had to walk in single file, the one-eyed wolf bringing up the rear. The light from Shen's torch danced on the craggy walls. He stopped just outside the other end of the tunnel and lowered the torch so that it illuminated a section of wall near their knees. "What does this look like to you?" Shen asked. With and uncomfortable look exchanged between them, Jinzhang and Laoban knelt down and peered at the wall. There was a sharp intake of breath from Jinzhang and the wolf stared at her openly. "Well?" said Shen impatiently.

"It, uh…" Jinzhang swallowed thickly. "Looks like a bat." It was a symbol carved shallowly into the cave wall, about the size of a wolf's paw. Two large ears tapered into arched wings that came to points beneath. They were her own wings, in miniature. She looked back up at Shen. "I don't-"

Shen raised the torch suddenly and light fell upon more of the cavern. Jinzhang stood slowly. The walls were an intricate tapestry of carved images, many of them more bats, and many more were Chinese symbols. The cavern itself was enormous, shaped like the inside of a massive egg. Jinzhang's eye ran up the patterns and symbols and her heart was beating so fast. Up above their heads structures carved out of the rock. Much farther than her eyes could make out, there were elegant pillars and archways jutting from the rock, and what she recognized to be homes carved into the walls high above. "It's a village," said the bat. "It's a village, Shen!" Shen looked at her with his dark, knowing eyes.

"A village down _here?_" Laoban balked. _"Why?"_

But Jinzhang had already bent her knees and leapt into the air, where she beat her wings and flew up in a corkscrew, sending out her voice and soaking in the information that came to her. The entrances to the dwellings were carved smooth and delicately, clean grooves etching patterns and words on the doorways. Dusty, colored triangles of cloth hung like blessings from long white tread strung from one side of the cavern to another. The ceiling was littered with larger images of bats, in finer detail, with their broad wings outstretched. She felt as though she were in a dream. It felt so right, so perfect. This was where her people lived. But the place was ghostly quiet. "Hello?" she called into the empty stillness.

She landed vertically on a wall and clung to the knots in the stone with the clawed ends of her wings and feet. "Hello?" she said again, suddenly timid, as she approached the nearest dwelling. She stood on the stone platform outside the door and cleared her throat, glancing around. "Hello? I'm a traveler, and I, uh, well, I guess you're not here. Tell you what, if you're not here, just don't say anything, but if you are here, say the word, I don't want to bother you. But I would really like to know…" she said, quieter, and brought up a wing to gently nudge the tall wooden door. The door swung open and the air inside was stale and musty. Jinzhang coughed a little. She smelled something thinly ugly in the air. Her heart fluttered in her throat. She took a few steps and then stopped, blinking in the dark. Her mind saw clearly, but it took her an eternity to understand. Her body went rigid. She thought she might be screaming but found that she wasn't. She stumbled back, out of the room, and shot out across the cavern. She slammed open the door to the next home she saw, breathing frantically, and was met with the same horrible sight. She tried again and again, flew high and low, but each home held only skeletons, long dead and withered.

She had never felt so much pain in her chest, such sick, twisting hurt, it incapacitated her. She opened one last door, and her heart broke. There, sprawled and entwined together on the floor were two bat skeletons, an adult and a child. The thin, delicate bones of the wings were arranged around the child's small, yellowed skeleton. The larger skull, flat-topped and arrow shaped, rested on the smaller one.

Jinzhang drifted unsteadily to the floor and landed on her knees on the cold, smooth stone. She didn't care that Shen and Laoban were watching. She didn't move. Something had torn within her, and now she collapsed, curled on her side, and breathed painfully, staring at nothing. She didn't cry, though she desperately wanted to. She could hear Laoban murmur something to Shen distantly, and then they were gone and she knew that she was alone in this tomb of strangers that were so familiar. She didn't know how long she laid there before sleep took her.

…

Jinzhang awoke with a throbbing headache. The muted voices of the wolves floated in the air. The image of the dead mother and child sprung into her mind and she felt for a moment that she may vomit. The intense nausea passed and then she saw Shen. He was sitting stiffly as a sentinel by where she lay his long train of feathers flowed by her head. Numbly, she brought up a wing and stroked the feathers. She loved the feel of them, but even this brought fresh tears to her eyes.

Shen jumped at the feel of her wing. He looked, saw the bat's watery expression, and sighed, frustrated. "I saw some of them. There are bones down here as well."

Jinzhang sat up and wiped her eyes. "What happened to them?" she said, voice unnaturally high.

Shen pondered this. "Something quick," he said. "A flood, an overwhelming attack…"

Jinzhang nodded and then stared ahead with her big eyes. "There was no one to bury them." The thought hovered in her mind and repeated itself over and over.

"But they died together." This was Laoban's voice. Jinzhang turned to look at him with blank eyes. "Well, that's how I'd like to go." He offered her a small smile that managed to be consoling.

There was some splashing and Jinzhang saw the three pups chasing after one another, bounding through the stream in their chase. "Hey, you three!" Laoban admonished sharply, "Control yourselves. This isn't the pla-"

"No," Jinzhang choked. "It's ok." She stood. "We should be moving, shouldn't we? I've slowed us down. I'm sorry." To Shen's obvious surprise, she gave him a shallow bow before walking slowly away.

They were in a wide courtyard, in the center of the cavern floor. Tall poles hung with rusted oil lamps dotted the courtyard. The stream flowed snake-like through twisting artificially made canals around them, and stone bridges arched their high backs over the water. Lining the walls were what appeared to be carved shop-fronts, long abandoned, still with cheerfully painted wooden signs advertising their wares out front. Long, thin bones littered the ground. The stream was choked with them. Jinzhang didn't understand. This looked as if life had just stopped without reason. There was no sign of attack. But there was a hard lump in her throat, so she did not say anything.

Jinzhang sent out her voice out and began to cry again. "The village continues into the next chambers," she said, her voice breaking pitifully. Grief sapped the strength out of her. She vaguely felt Shen at her side and couldn't look at him. She had never known herself to be so weak, not since her father's death. Shen stood by her for a moment, and then moved toward the entrance to the next chamber. As he did, his shoulder brushed hers, and that was enough to get her moving. She followed in his wake with her head bowed, concentrating on the sound of his talons on the stone.

They passed through several tombs like this one. In the last chamber, Jinzhang found an old shadow puppet theater. Behind the dusty paper screen were drawers full of fragile little puppets. "Shadow puppets," she said aloud. "I remember them." And despite herself, she smiled a little. "My father- no." she frowned. "My father didn't have shadow puppets." Her fingers combed through the little dolls. "He didn't…"

With trembling fingers, Jinzhang picked up a perfectly delicate bat by its little bendable wings. _She was sitting cross-legged in a group of other children, and the colorful little bat was twirling and flapping his wings on the screen, and someone was singing a song she didn't know. _

The puppet dropped from Jinzhang's wings. Her breath came in harsh little puffs of air, like laughter but not. She must be going mad.

"Jin?" She snapped out of her stupor and looked at Laoban. She met his gaze and felt the wolf search her face very carefully. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "We've found something."

"H-have you?" Jinzhang asked, feeling light headed.

"You don't look so hot."

"What have you found?"

"Your eye's kinda… twitching crazily."

"What have you found?"

Laoban gave a shrug and motioned for her to follow. He led her to what at first appeared to be an enormous craggy black rock formation, sticking in weird spikes out of the cave wall. But as they approached it, Jinzhang saw Shen break off a dark piece and crumble it between his feathers. It left a black smear against the white. "Charcoal?" Jinzhang ventured.

Shen nodded. "It's blocking our exit. Is there any other way out?"

Jinzhang checked, then shook her head. Her eyes widened. "This!" she exclaimed. "This is how they died. There isn't enough ventilation and this must have been an enormous fire. It ate away the oxygen and they all… suffocated." She felt sick again. "But who would do this?"

"Somebody really hated bats," Laoban said unnecessarily.

"Can you see what's on the other side, Jinzhang?" asked Shen.

She shook her head mutely.

Shen spun about to face the scattered pack. "We will not turn back," his voice boomed authoritatively. "Tear down the wall!"

The wolves obediently rushed in and began clawing away at the charred wood. Thick black dust churned in the air as large chunks fell apart. Jinzhang joined the wolves, aimed powerful kicks to dislodge the wood. Jinzhang had to leave this place. The memory of the shadow puppet frightened her. She did not want this in her past. She needed to escape. She aimed one last forceful kick and heard a ripping noise, like the sound of tearing paper. All at once, the rest of the charcoal fell away and Jinzhang pulled her foot out of the paper wall. Then she quickly tore it open blinked in the filtered moonlight, smelled the wafting scent of sandalwood incense, heard the soft patter of spring water cascade into the Fountain of Wisdom below.


	21. Murderer

XXI.

It was just as she had left it. The thin walls, the wooden floorboards, the incense, it was all so vividly familiar that Jinzhang felt as though she was dreaming. The moonlight on the running water in the fountain was surreal. She walked numbly toward it, leaving dusty black charcoal footprints behind her. There was a distant roaring in her ears. There was a painful restricted feeling in her chest.

The water was just as clear as had always been. But no, it had always been tainted. From the beginning. Now all she could see was the stream choked with the bones of innocents. She was empty, used up. But in the back of her mind there were bubbles- little bursts of clarity. She remembered being very young and watching the workmen put the finishing touches on the newly built temple. _Her father's big paw over her wing. The stares of the other children. The dancing shadow of a bat._ Her rippling reflection in the water was darkened with soot, her black eyes shining. _Wings spread wide. Blazing fire. Her father's soft brown eyes. His fur black with soot. Black with soot._

Shen's attentive eyes were on her back; he was waiting for her reaction. Perhaps she would start crying. But she was empty. Her mind had cleared.

"There is someone I need to speak with," she said, and walked slowly to the head of the stairs leading to the lower levels of the temple. Her profile was sharp and rigid, the moonlight at her back. Shen took a step in her direction and she raised a wing- the only sign she gave that indicated not to follow. Then she descended the steps, out of sight.

Jinzhang's feet were virtually soundless as she walked slowly down the long hallway. Thick pillars intermittently blocked the moonlight that bathed the left side of her face, leaving the other side in shadow. She reached the door at the end of the hall. She slid it open and it made a soft, high squeak.

The room was bare of trinkets and comforts but for an empty mat and a one hard wooden chair. She stepped inside, looked blankly at the empty mat, and sensed him behind her. She slid away, turning lithely to face Huli-Jing. The old fox's eyes widened for the barest moment. Then he dropped his guarded stance and folded his arms.

"You." His voice was low and rough. "I allowed myself to believe I was finally free of you. What is the meaning of this, bat?"

Jinzhang looked directly into Huli-Jing's eyes. She had respected him more than she could say. Now, everything about him made her sick with rage. Inside, she was drowning in it, that slick, fluid emotion. She said, "I know it's late."

"I don't want an explanation," Huli-Jing cut in. "No. This is your last display of impudence at this temple. I cannot abide your disrespect any longer. I want you gone by morning. Get out of my-"

"_I know it's late._" Jinzhang repeated, the malice leaking into her voice. Her expression was dark but controlled. "But, you see, I've just returned. And I thought I had questions for you, but I don't any longer. It was you."

"I haven't an idea what-"

"_Don't lie!" _she yelled. Her breaths shuddered in her chest. She struggled to control her voice. "Don't _lie_ to me, you pompous hypocrite, you _killed_ them."

The Jinzhang's astonishment, the fox smiled sourly. "Oh, Jinzhang," he said. "You've got it wrong again. We _all_ killed them. Every adult in town had a hand in that business. We all had something to gain."

Struck with fresh horror, Jinzhang stared at him. "No."

"Even your dear father-"

"Shut up!"

"Even _he _helped to build the fateful fire. Wretched simpleton that he was, he felt remorse. When a squirming infant was thrust through the gap in the wood, he took it from the burning wings. And I told him, I warned him that it could only grow full of misery, that it would be kind to drown it, but he would not kill it. And I was right. Wasn't I, Jinzhang? Does this knowledge bring you peace? No. You can never find peace. You should not be alive.

She was on her knees. She could feel her body, muscles weak yet buzzing with pops of frantic energy. Her mind had gone white, clean, blank. She felt the air stir around her and she thought, sluggishly, that something was about to happen. Something important. His words echoed in her mind. _Peace? What did that mean? Peace. _Something to do with good and evil. Something to do with acceptance. He had turned from her and he began to walk away.

"Why?"

He didn't turn to look at her. "There wasn't enough food to go round. It was a harsh winter," he said. "It was us or them." Why wouldn't he just _look at her_? "Would you wish the pain of starvation upon us all?" he asked.

She looked up at his aging face, searched inside herself for the answer. "Yes."

A flash of surprise showed in his slanted eyes, and with that, Jinzhang's mind caught on fire. Her coiled legs kicked out against the floor and she threw herself at the fox. He dived away, but she was already twisting toward him, her limbs fluid and elastic, her jaw set in a furious grimace, her heart pounding painfully in her throat. But every wandering tendril of thought was focused exclusively on the fox's movements to block and strike, and her mind had never moved so quickly. He was powerful- he hit her several times, so that she stumbled backward. But she came back, never tiring, until she saw the glint of fear in him, and that gave her a disturbing twinge of satisfaction.

Huli-Jing managed to whip around and Jinzhang got a face full of his bushy red tail. Next thing, he was sprinting, four-legged, down the hallway and into the depths of the temple. And all down the hall, doors were sliding open with hesitation, young faces peered around and caught sight of the bat. Jinzhang was fighting for breath, her yellow mane wild, her clothes were dusty black. There was a pregnant pause as she attempted to gather her wits. Then, the confused young students were knocked back into their quarters by the air off of the bat's wings as she streaked past.

The hallways were narrow and black. They crisscrossed like a checker board. Jinzhang chose directions at random, barreled down empty hall after empty hall, her frustration growing with each passing moment. But there- there was a figure down that hall. She turned sharply, her momentum throwing her into the wall with a loud clatter. The figure jumped and spun around as she sped toward it.

"Jinzhang!" She met the cheetah's wide eyes out of the dark and skidded to a halt. "What- Where have you been? What's going on?" questioned Kuai frantically. "I've just seen Master Huli-"

"Which way?" Jinzhang demanded harshly.

Kuai recoiled. "Jinzhang. What's going on?"

She surveyed the nervousness in the cheetah's face. "You-" she breathed. "You _knew_, didn't you? You ALL knew!"

Kuai's face looked stricken, then evolved quickly into hard understanding, and then to cautious placation. "Now, look," he began. "I was just a kid-"

"So was I," Jinzhang growled.

"It- it was a hard decision for them, you know." She looked at him blankly. "I know you must be… just… Jinzhang, you know this is bigger than you."

"Bigger-?" Her eyes widened in shock. "How _dare_ you? They were _lives_!"

He flinched. "Okay. What do you want me to say, that it was wrong?"

She stared with horrified, accusing eyes. She didn't know how to respond.

"It doesn't matter that it was wrong. It was all they could do," he said. "You can't change the past. You have a life now, don't you? You have everything you could need."

Silence hung in the air. "Kuai," Jinzhang said, her voice hushed. "Call me your equal."

"What?"

"Say that I am your equal!"

His expression hardened. "Why?"

She glared, baring small, needle teeth. "That's what I thought."

Before he could react, she darted past him, into the darkness. He shouted after her and took chase. She could hear his approach as she flew around corners and down passageways. Then, abruptly, the hall opened up into the cavernous main entrance. Tall pillars rose into the dark corners above. Entrances to more halls lined up in long rows all around. Jinzhang turned about, staring at the gaping black openings, panting.

"Huli-Jing!" she yelled, her broken voice ringing solidly in the open air. "Don't run away from me! You coward! You can't leave me this way!" She listened intently but was met with only silence. "You _can't_!" she screamed. "I won't let you! I want you to pay! I want you to _suffer!_ Do you understand? The way _they suffered!"_

At this moment, Kuai slammed into her from behind and attempted to tackle her to the floor. She tried to twist around and kick out but he gripped the back of her head and crushed her face into the tile. Then he stilled as a wickedly curved blade rested in the air under his chin. Jinzhang felt his weight shift off of her and looked up to find Shen standing over them with his spear's tip brushing the cheetah's throat.

"Rambunctious little pimple, aren't you?" Shen said musingly. Kuai scrambled away, staring between the bat and the peacock, eyes goggling.

"Kuai," Jinzhang's voice was haggard and strange. "Wake the students and servants and tell them all to leave this place."

Kuai's chest rose and fell sporadically. "Wh-what?"

"You had better do it," she warned, "or they'll die in the flames."

Kuai's brow knitted. "Are you _crazy?_"

Jinzhang picked herself up off the ground so that he could see the way her eyes blazed. "Go!"

His astonishment faded into urgency. He turned and sprinted the way he had come, leaving Jinzhang and Shen alone. They exited the temple without a word between them. The wolves were already outside where the moonlight was eerily bright and caused the pristine snow on the ground the gleam. Laoban saw them and came running.

"What's happening?" he asked eagerly. Jinzhang walked past as though she didn't see him, and Shen waved him away, trailing curiously after the bat.

Jinzhang walked dazedly to the outskirts of the grounds and leapt onto the low branch of a tree. She sat facing the temple, her huge eyes fastened on its doors. Shen, after a moment or two, settled on a slightly higher branch of the same tree, and they waited. Jinzhang watched as sleepy and mystified kung fu students filed out of the wide double doors. Then came the servants, looking a little more awake and a lot more abashed. Masters came next, a group of them, talking animatedly with the harried young Kuai, who seemed to be struggling to explain. Huli-Jing did not appear. After the masters, none but Huli-Jing would remain. But Jinzhang waited until the pale light of the coming sunrise. Then, without warning or consultation, she reached into a fold in Shen's robe (causing an indignant cry of protest) and retrieved the small, knotted pocket of explosive powder.

"Give me a spark." If prompted, Shen couldn't explain exactly why he took the order. There were little reasons: the set of her jaw, the calmness of her voice, the cold, calculating purpose in her eyes. She lowered the bomb and he swiftly scraped the metal tips of his talons against the stone underfoot. The twisted cloth fuse caught the spark. Jinzhang gripped it in her wing, pupils dilating as the sun crested the mountainside, and hurled it in a high, blazing arc. It tumbled in the air and smashed through a rice paper window on the top floor.

With the sound of an immense firework, the wall of the loft tore apart and the spontaneous inferno ballooned outward. The _cracks_ of splintering wood echoed amongst the mountaintops. Jinzhang and Shen stared at the fire. They watched it consume the wood frame of the temple with ravenous speed.

When Jinzhang opened her mouth, her voice felt like sandpaper in her throat. "Let him escape in the caves. If he can." Her lips pulled wide of their own accord and she laughed. At some point the brittle laughter turned to hearty sobs and she doubled over with the pain of it. Her stomach heaved like she may vomit. She clutched her middle. Shen watched her small body tremble violently and the sounds that tore from her were raw and bleeding. This was, he thought, exactly what a killer really looked and sounded like. It was pathetic, really. He sat beside her and brushed his feathers lightly over her wide ears. Choking with the forceful sobs, she grasped his wing and held it to her chest like a lifeline. They stayed like that for a long time.


	22. Resolution

XXII.

"They'll be coming for us."

"I know."

Shen tilted his head to one side as he surveyed the bat. She sat hunched, wings folded, large ears laid back, dark eyes hidden behind the customary blindfold. She had ceased her weeping and now sat, unseeing and perfectly still in the cold noonday light. Shen opened his mouth to speak just as Laoban trotted over and started to say something but Shen shot him a warning glance.

Jinzhang stood wordlessly and began to walk with an unsteady gate into the wreckage. Flakes of ashy debris floated mournfully in the air. The charred skeleton of the temple stood stubbornly in places. In others, it had collapsed and lay on beds of still-burning coals like the remnants of a massive bonfire. The stone pillars in the courtyard remained, standing like grave markers, or like the homes of lost spirits. The scorched tiles of the ground floor still retained heat from the fire. The smell in the air was thick and dry. And past the little sounds of settling wood was the pattering of running water. It gushed forth from the mountain, clear and mineral-rich, but as it slid down the rock face, it gathered the ash and became tainted. It ran in thick, dark rivulets by Jinzhang's feet and continued its journey down the mountainside. Jinzhang could feel the ash on her fur and clothing and she shivered. Kuai and the others would be returning soon.

"You should go," she told Shen.

Shen nodded without much conviction. He was fascinated by the way the rays of sunlight cut through the dust and fell on her ring of golden fur.

"I guess I _was_ selfish," she said quietly. "All this time. Like you said… do you remember?"

"I remember."

"It was true, but I couldn't see it. I can see it now. I should have stayed here. I should have been content. I should have stayed and none of this would have happened. But you should go now. They'll be looking for you, too."

"But you're coming with us," Laoban interjected. There was silence. Laoban looked at Shen, uncomprehending. Shen sighed in a frustrated way. "What? She is, isn't she? I thought…"

"Go assemble the pack, Laoban." The wolf frowned, ducked his head in a clumsy bow, and bounded down the steps into the courtyard.

"Ever since you came, along, Shen," Jinzhang continued mildly. "I've been changing. Or the world's been changing. Everything seems… uglier now."

"The world _is_ ugly," Shen snapped. "You're overthinking it, you know."

"What?"

"You just keep living. You _have_ to. You push forward. And I don't want-!"

Jinzhang pricked her ears. Shen stumbled over his words for a moment. "I don't want you to be weak," he said. "I don't want you to give up. But I can't make you strong. You have to be-" Shen made an angry noise and raised his voice. "-you _can't _let it end this way, Jinzhang."

Jinzhang's features tightened and fat tears rolled from beneath the blindfold. "They're coming. They'll want to kill me."

Shen felt an unexpected stab of fear. "Then make a decision! Do you want to die?"

She shook her head but didn't move, so Shen scoffed, partly in frustration and partly to hide his relief. He grasped her wing roughly and dragged her away from the wreckage. It took her a few minutes to wake up, pull her wing from his grip, and follow him into the forest.

The angry mob never caught up with them, for they only stopped their trek through the forest when night fell and they were far away from the ruined temple. They set up camp by the lake in the foothills, where Shen and Jinzhang and once fought under the moon. Its surface was frozen now. Shen knew full well that Jinzhang had never intended to permanently join his entourage. And a part of him thought this was for the best. She was flawed and emotional. She had exposed to him her unattractive weaknesses. She had questions, always, and Shen had an itching feeling that she had become far too knowledgeable about his own faults. And now, she was going to leave him.

When Jinzhang approached him and sat down by his side, he didn't acknowledge her. Out the corner of his eye, he saw her fiddle with the hem of her tunic like a child. They sat facing the frozen lake for several minutes.

"How do you think Zhen is doing?" Jinzhang said flatly. Shen didn't look at her. "... I hope they're alright. They'll be in Harbin by now. He'll be with his family-" her voice caught and she cleared her throat.

"Shen?" She waited a moment or two for a response. She sighed heavily. He could feel her eyes on him. Then, as if to herself, she murmured, "You're so beautiful…"

Shen felt his heart leap in surprise and turned to glower at her. She stiffened as though she hadn't meant to say it, then glared back. "What? It's true," she said defensively, then stared hard at her knees. She sighed again, awkwardly, and said, "I'm not doing this right…" Shen raised an eyebrow as she got to her feet and looked down at him with an intense, resolute expression. "Are you really going to take over China?"

He squinted rather suspiciously. "Yes…"

Her dark eyes shone as she seemed to concentrate intently on his face while carefully processing something in her mind. Shen stared back, his thoughts filled with the familiarity of her voice, of her pensive demeanor. Then she bowed low at the waist, and he found himself automatically standing to acknowledge it. Still bowed, she spoke earnestly with her face hidden. "I envy you, you know. For your strength. And I want to be strong, too- for you. I want to follow you. I want to be of whatever use I can be to you. If you'll allow it…" She raised her head slightly to look up at him. "... My lord."

Shen met her gaze and felt his feathers bristle with pleasure and a surprised grin pull at the corners of his beak. Her eyes widened at the sight of his expression and her answering smile was radiant. Shen checked himself. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Jinzhang straightened out of her bow. Her expression was true and vulnerable. "Everyone I've ever called family is dead. But you make me feel that I can be more than a grieving daughter. I just want you to succeed. I'll give you my life and my loyalty. Please."

Shen came nearer to her, his expression quizzical and fairly amused. "Go on. And?" She looked up questioningly. With an almost affectionate chuckle, he lowered his head by her ear and said in that delicious voice, "And you don't want to be alone." Jinzhang flushed and avoided his gaze as he pulled away. "But we can keep that between ourselves, I think." And Jinzhang was nodding dizzily and staring mindlessly and her eyes really were _huge. _They absorbed everything they saw and reflected light like stars.

The company feasted that night, under the moon, happy to be out of the darkness. Laoban eventually ambled over to Jinzhang and was told the news, at which point he engulfed the small bat in an iron-gripped embrace so that she was gasping when he released her, and Shen barked something derogatory at him. There would be a hundred more nights like this. Laoban grinned peevishly as Shen returned to the task of preening ash out of his tail feathers. A hundred more, and the winter air would melt and the days would grow longer. Jinzhang just laughed.


End file.
